Jill Ker Conway narrates her remarkable journey into adulthood, marked by vast distances and contrasting worlds. Growing up in the Australian outback, she was seven before encountering another girl and began helping herd sheep at eight, as World War II left her family without able-bodied men. Conway vividly describes the beautiful yet harsh landscape of Coorain, where her parents worked tirelessly to create a nurturing home amidst adversity. After her father’s sudden death when she was ten, her mother struggled with depression, leaving Jill to navigate the challenges of suburban Sydney in the 1950s, where she faced a crowded school life. As she transitioned to university, Jill embraced new ideas while grappling with the responsibility of caring for her mother, leading her to moments of escapism through drink. Despite these struggles, she gradually found her emotional and intellectual strength, embarking on a transformative love affair that helped her discover her true self. Ultimately, she moved to America, where she became a historian and the first female president of Smith College. Her journey from Coorain is a powerful exploration of how deep-rooted commitments to place and dreams can both liberate and confine, portraying childhood as a blend of Eden and anguish, and adulthood as a quest for freedom.
