Biography

The Happiest Man on Earth

Linda J

At the fine old age of 99, in May 2019, Eddie Jaku gave a TEDx talk at Sydney’s International Convention Centre. His debut book, ‘The Happiest Man on Earth’, followed in 2020!

As he tells his story, Eddie recollects both the fortunes and misfortunes which have marked his life as a German Jew. Indeed, much of this would be familiar to visitors of Sydney Jewish Museum since he has volunteered at the museum from 1992. It is his story to tell – to remember and honour the missing generations.

Why read another biography of a holocaust survivor? What makes ‘the Happiest Man on Earth’ an important read? In the case of Eddie Jaku – Authenticity. Renown. Optimism.

While Eddie documents the immense struggles of his life (which we may never experience), he also gives life lessons. He recognises the values which shaped him. He values the lessons his parents taught him. He acknowledges the relationships which saved him. And he records, as a survivor, events never to be forgotten – for the sake of those who were exterminated.

While Eddie records tragic events in his life – as a victim of Nazi concentration camps and a refugee caught between two countries, he also inserts the wisdom from a survivor – that which has enabled him to move on from such horror. In ‘the Happiest Man on Earth’, as each period of his life is noted, it is bookended with sage advice to deal with pain, prejudice, problems and the past – ways to be safe and secure in the present. Such advice includes:

# If you have the opportunity today, go home and make sure you tell your mother how much you love her.

# Hate is a disease which may destroy your enemy, but which will destroy you in the process.

# Tomorrow will come but first, enjoy today.

These revelations have not come to Eddie easily. Some thoughts were innate from his family’s upbringing, which helped him survive. However, damaged, post-war he was not a happy man, as might be the case for many – until his son was born. He now claims the greatest happiness comes from family.

From someone who has seen 100 years of extremes in human behaviour, Eddie Jaku has much to tell us and ‘the Happiest Man on Earth’ provides many thoughts to ponder. For those who struggle, for those with prejudices, for those who need to forgive or just simply move on.

Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful.

It’s up to you.

Discovery: Letter to my Teenage Self

Linda J

Subtitle: Outstanding Australians share the advice they wish they’d been given growing up. (2016)

This book was pulled together (i.e. edited and published) by Grace Halpen when she was 15 and in year 10 at a school in Melbourne. Having written her own ‘Letter to my Teenage Self’, she was then inspired to gather letters from well-known adult Australians in various fields of experience.

Writers include sportspeople, performers, writers, politicians, researchers, entrepreneurs and more.

Adam Gilchrist advises his younger self to learn a musical instrument; Josh Frydenberg sends the  message that persistence pays off; Layne Beachley warns against comparing yourself to others – “Always believe you are deserving of love and you are enough, just the way you are.”

Many of the contributors point out that we all make mistakes – but this is how we learn. Respect for others is also a common theme. Recognising the support you can get from parents and friends, who have your best interest at heart, is not always obvious to teenagers – another common idea expressed by many.

Some try to help their younger self understand and get through bullying episodes – reflecting back and now being able to raise their heads triumphantly in a successful career – and wondering how their bully fared in life. (e.g. Missy Higgins, Judith Lucy). Others suggest that teens not take themselves too seriously (“Guess what? No one is watching your every move” – James O’Loghlin), and “try to be a little less arrogant” (Sir Gustav Nossal).

As well as these sentiments, there is a lot of encouragement to ‘be yourself and be courageous in following your dreams’. This is in spite of the angst many remember – angst about fitting in, body changes and all that is involved in the journey through the teenage years.

Discovering who you are in the teenage years is a challenging time. Many of these letters will speak to the heart of both teenagers and adults alike. Thank you to Grace and her willing mentors – this is a fantastic collection well worth dipping into.

Read about Grace’s editorial journey here.

Other contributors include Guy Sebastian, Peter Alexander, Jackie French, Dannii Minogue, Shaun Tan, Stephanie Rice, Maggie Beer and many more. (I only wish there was an index or table of contents which listed the letters of the 53 prominent Australians!)

# The edition I read was a Dyslexia Friendly book – obtained from Blue Mountains Council Library. These books have a special font and layout to help alleviate some of the issues experienced by readers with dyslexia.

## It is also available as an ebook from various sources.

### Another bonus from this book, is the fact that all profits from the sale of the book go to the Reach Foundation, which works to “inspire young people to believe in themselves and get the most out of life.”

What would you like to tell your younger self?

Remarkable journey – Born to Fly

Linda J

born-to-flyWhat was your childhood career dream? Fireman, racing car driver, ballet dancer, astronaut? How many of us actually followed through on our childhood dreams? Ryan Campbell was passionate about his, and has begun the path to achieving his dream career:

‘I loved our holiday in Vanuatu, but I just could not wait to get back on that aeroplane… Not to go home, just to go flying. That was the day when I decided I would be a jumbo jet pilot when I grew up.’ (He was 6 at the time.)

On June 30, 2013, Ryan took off on a journey to circumnavigate the globe, solo – and with the aim to be the youngest person to ever achieve this. However, as his book Born to Fly details, his departure on this day was the result of a great deal of planning and persistence – with many hurdles to overcome before his journey was to become a reality.

Just exactly how would you begin to plan a circumnavigation around the world in a light aircraft? Where would you begin? Indeed what would even inspire such a massive endeavour? How could a young adult even consider doing it?

Ryan’s passion and determination are evident in Born to Fly – and some credit for this must come from his uncle and grandfather, both passionate aviators. It is also clear that, while he is very much an average young adult in some ways (he admits that he was a fairly non-motivated student at times, a day-dreamer too), once he set his sights on achieving goals related to flying, he became very focussed.

With lots of research,  he began to discover what he had to do to learn to fly, ways to supplement his earnings at the local supermarket to pay for lessons, and also how to meet academic standards for aviation qualifications. Achieving his first solo flight on his fifteenth birthday was just a small indication of things to come! 

Soon, with the confidence from his achievements, Ryan began to dream of bigger challenges, which culminated in his record-breaking solo flight. There is great detail included in his story – the flying challenges, communication challenges, daily revision of decisions and insights to what it is like to undertake such a mammoth journey. He also acknowledges his many mentors and supporters – including Ken Evers, Jim Hazelton and Dick Smith.

There is much to be taken from this story – for both aviation enthusiasts, and others seeking inspiration to achieve their life goals. Born to Fly speaks not only about the challenges and difficulties he faced on this venture, but the ways in which he overcame events and situations that could test even the most experienced aviator. I am sure, Ryan would be the first to admit that he might have done a few things differently, but his courage and determination shines through.

Born to Fly is not the end of Ryan’s story. He is not yet a ‘jumbo jet pilot’. However, he aims to use his influence to encourage other young people to follow their dreams. And he will continue to work on his dreams, stepping towards his ultimate goals while encouraging others to find theirs:

I am proud to have learnt at a young age, proud of my achievements so far and excited at the prospects the future holds for me. I live for aviation, and I know that it is this passion, along with my dedication and commitment that will determine the successful outcome of my next endeavour. (Source: http://www.teenworldflight.com/my-achievements.html)

(Lots more detail is given at the Teen World Flight site, with of course a great focus on aviation.) 

N.B. This would also be a great related text for ‘Journeys’ and ‘Discovery’ – a remarkable journey by a young adult, out to discover the world and himself.

Memoirs – Unpolished Gem

Linda J

untitledOne of the great values of ‘reading’ an audiobook occurs when there is a distinct accent that knits the story together. This is certainly the case for Unpolished Gem, which I have been enjoying recently on my way to work.

The story is the memoir of Alice Pung’s immigrant family – their heritage including past lives in Vietnam and in Cambodia under the regime of Pol Pot. Alice, now a successful writer and lawyer, recounts her impressions of life as a child living across two very different cultures in suburban Melbourne.

Her family arrives in Australia and is in awe of all it has to offer – so different from their homeland experiences, and indeed, so different from the current migrant experience. For them, the suburban streets, shops and government support systems provide so much. In fact, every day her grandmother blesses ‘Father Government’ for giving old people money.

As refugees from the Pol Pot regime, her parents have great expectations of their new homeland, not the least of which is the value of education for their family. The family works hard – her mother as an outworker, while her father eventually becomes a ‘business entreprenuer’ embracing the miracle of franchising.

Naturally, though they embrace the Aussie dream, theirs is tempered by many strong cultural ideals. Insights into the Chinese culture are given with snippets of family conversations revealing their thoughts on how things should be done, must be done, as Alice struggles at times to bridge both cultures.

Listening to Unpolished Gem was fun – to hear Chinese expression, and the repetition and patterns of stilted Chinglish. The frustrations and struggles of Alice’s childhood also feel very authentic in the audio version, as her voice switches from recounts of the things she needed to learn, and things she needed to help her parents (particularly her mother) understand. Pung also loves language and Unpolished Gem is full of quirky sayings, and vivid playful language, so also dipping into the physical book was immensely satisfying.

Published in 2006, Unpolished Gem received much acclaim, and I imagine it would be an interesting contrast to the refugee experience of today. With the authentic insights it gives of a cross-cultural childhood, it is an unforgettable story with moments of tenderness, humour and bittersweet struggles well worth revisiting.

In an interview Writers Talk, Pung reflects on her family, inspiration for writing the book and the migrant experience:

A great book for concepts of belonging, cultural identity or journeys. Or simply a great read!

Frida: Chosen to die, Destined to live

Linda J

In a night of horror, after weeks of fear, Frida’s family was slaughtered. With her family at the time of terror, Frida somehow survived, in spite of vicious injuries. Left alone, with horrific memories of the massacres which occurred in Rwanda in the 1994 persecutions, Frida not only survived but became a strong advocate for healing her troubled nation.

The details in this story, tragically, are very real. They explore the gradual deterioration of village friendships and neighbourhood networks at the time of racial conflict present in Rwanda in 1994. Told from the perspective of one who was there as a child, the story shows how invasive, manufactured, cultural differences can corrupt a society.

‘Between April and June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days. Most of the dead were Tutsis – and most of those who perpetrated the violence were Hutus.’ BBC report, Rwanda: How the genocide happened, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1288230.stm

 

Frida witnessed the massacre of her whole family, and somehow, miraculously survived herself. This is her story – one of numbness, anger, then determination. Why she survived and what she achieved as a result fill the pages of ‘Frida’ – a book that hard to read but worth the struggle to understand.