Title: Burnt Eucalyptus Wood: On Origins, Language and Identity

Author: Ennatu Domingo

Reviewer: Rhonda Bruce

Audience: Stage 5

"When I move through the world, it doesn't bother me that before anything else they look at my 'packaging'. I am European, I am African. But I don't want to have to worry anywhere about my physical safety on account of the colour of my skin, and even less so at home, in Catalonia"(p 128)

Ennatu Domingo's stunning autobiography is a combination of the story of her nomadic childhood in Ethiopia, her adoption and life in Catalonia, interspersed with short reports on the politics and unrest in Ethiopia and Africa.  She tells her story in a stratightforward manner but with a love and understanding of her families and cultures. Ennuta describes what it is like to be adopted by people from another culture and the accidental and unexpected effects of being decultured, including the forgetting of one's own original language. She discusses belonging and identity in the outstanding authentic debut work.

An autobiography of journey and experiences, both incredibly truthful and poignant but full of hope and promise. 

*covers additional reading for Stage 5 English Core Representation of Life Experiences; and, Stage 6 Text and the Human Experience and Language, Identity and Culture