The laugh’s on me!

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Ruth Bonetti

How dates got ahead of me

False Truths propagate too easily. So I wrote last email, citing dates that authors and historians replicate. Let me confess up to my own case study. I printed the date for my breakfast presentation as 6 February instead of 13 February.

Wrong WEEK.

Time management goals

A 2018 resolution is to run seven minutes early for appointments. More doable than 10 minutes.) I made a good start… Seven DAYS ahead of my presentation. There I was, preparing early, so there will be less rush to polish. So I can…

Speak out with a confident voice
Your voice is your identity: How to make it music to your listeners’ ears

Here’s the blurb:
Our first Brisbane International Womens Breakfast for 2018 features award-winning author, international presenter and performance coach Ruth Bonetti. Words and music are her passion, and in this interactive presentation, Ruth will share doable techniques to help you become confident on your feet:

Learn easy tips to enhance your natural voice
Project with ease, clarity, and poise
Pre-presentation warm-up for resonance, modulation and confidence

Ruth has presented in Scandinavia, the USA, UK and across Australia and New Zealand. Her techniques for confident presentation are encapsulated in her book Speak Out – Don’t Freak Out, and her recent heritage memoir Burn My Letters was shortlisted and won the Omega Writers CALEB nonfiction prize. Ruth is available for one-on-one coaching and training (www.ruthbonetti.com)

Tuesday 13 February 2018 | 7.00am for 7.15am to 9.00am Bookings essential.

Moreton Room, Ground Floor, United Service Club Queensland
183 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane (Parking)

Wrong YEAR!

On 17 January 1903, my grandfather Wilhelm Anders (“WA”) Back disembarked from SS Ophir in Sydney. Aged 16, he grasped the opportunities his new land offered. So young! So enterprising.

Check sources like Shipping Records!

Ophir docked 16 January 1903! I was mortified to realise my books cited an incorrect date, 1902! But on his Application for Certificate of Naturalization Wilhelm Anders Back himself wrote “17 January 1902“. Good one, Grandad! His niece quoted this date in her memoir so it went into my books. I’ll add an Errata.

Such pitfalls historians face, to sift truths from myths!

Fact check, all we who speak or write.
Past, present and future.

Eclipse January

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Ruth Bonetti

What a month to start 2018! Bonding with two smiling little grandsons and their parents over Australia Day BBQ. We played music together; a son arranged songs for all our family’s instruments. I wondered what songs and heritage stories one might hear from those who became Aussies at Citizenship Ceremonies.

Songs and stories of our nation

Australia is a meld of diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, histories. First Australians sing Songlines as they walk, connecting to Dreaming Stories of the land they cross. Indigenous leaders Noel Pearson and Warren Mundine are better able than myself to comment about the 26 January focus on Sydney Cove. Port Jackson, not Port Hedland as reported by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert. Motto: FACT CHECK!

Pearson suggests a positive solution. “The observance of Australia Day could commence on January 25 — the eve of the proclamation of British sovereignty over the east coast of the continent — and continue into January 26. This would straddle two sovereignties: the sovereignty of the First Nations that possessed this continent since time immemorial, and the crown’s sovereignty that commenced when the British flag was raised at Sydney Cove on January 26, 1788.”

Wilhelm Anders Back aged 16 in 1903A nation of emigrants

Let’s focus instead on those who disembarked there in subsequent centuries.
• What propelled them to emigrate?
• Many sought refuge from oppression–as did migrant-made-good Grandad. He avoided conscription into the Russian army.

On 17 January 1903, 115 years ago, my Grandad Wilhelm Anders (“WA”) Back disembarked from SS Ophir in Sydney. He was reunited with his brother Karl Johan later that month. Aged 16, he grasped the opportunities his new land offered. So young, enterprising. But WAIT.

Check sources! Shipping records.

Ophir docked on 16 January 1903.

Ouch. I was mortified to realise my books cited an incorrect date. But on his Application for Certificate of Naturalization Wilhelm Anders Back himself wrote 17 January 1902. His niece quoted this date in her memoir so I supposed it valid. An Errata will rectify.

The pitfalls historians face, to sift truths from myths!

Fact check, all we who speak or write.

Relatives note that their own children –and mine–resemble young Grandad. In the first photo ca.1890 he’s front left. Ten years later, at back left, he’s keen to take on the world.

Read his saga

Since living and working in foreign countries, I sympathise with the communication stumbles emigrants face. My recent books focus on the getting of language, citing challenges Grandad and his brother Karl Johan faced to learn English. During seven years in Europe, I knew that to speak risked blunders. I must overcome inhibition and shyness. In Midnight Sun to Southern Cross, I share my journeys of discovery–of heritage, of self and of voice.
(Excerpts at KJ’s Facebook book page; @BurnMyLetters and my own Author page.)
See book reviews Goodreads.com Information and autographed copies eBook

My topic as guest speaker for this 13 February breakfast:

Speak out with a confident voice

Your voice is your identity: How to make it music to your listeners’ ears

Our first BIBW breakfast for 2018 features award-winning author, international presenter and performance coach Ruth Bonetti. Words and music are her passion, and in this interactive presentation, Ruth will share doable techniques to help you become confident on your feet:

• Learn easy tips to enhance your natural voice

• Project with ease, clarity, and poise

• Pre-presentation warm-up for resonance, modulation and confidence

Ruth has presented in Scandinavia, the USA, UK and across Australia and New Zealand. Her techniques for confident presentation are encapsulated in her book Speak Out – Don’t Freak Out, and her recent heritage memoir Burn My Letters was shortlisted and won the Omega Writers CALEB nonfiction prize.

Ruth is available for one-on-one coaching and training (www.ruthbonetti.com)

Tuesday 13 February 2018 | 7.00am for 7.15am to 9.00am

Moreton Room, Ground Floor, United Service Club Queensland
183 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane

RSVP bibwomen@gmail.com

Email Ruth to enquire about training and coaching.

A Child’s Christmas in New South Wales

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Ruth Bonetti

As Christmas nears, are your childhood memories happy or bitter sweet? Fruity-rich but dark as a Dylan Thomas poem? After the arid outback of NW Queensland, I loved holidays in northern New South Wales.

“Our holiday near Byron Bay draws to an end after the family Christmas dinner at the redbrick riverside house at Brunswick Heads. Uncle KJ is present, shaven and dressed in his Sunday best. I am too concerned with my own rumbling tummy to notice him. I am ten years old, a sixth child of eight.

Being small fry, I am relegated to a coffee table overflow at the celebration with uncles, aunts and cousins. My nostrils flare as plates laden with turkey, ham and vegetables pass along the tables—then halt. Granddad pronounces the blessing. Over the rattle of cutlery I chirp several times before they hear, ‘Where’s mine?’ Mum scrabbles another plateful together.”

TwoCovers

Excerpt from Midnight Sun to Southern Cross

BUY NOW for Christmas gifts and we will fast post!

Now, as an adult, I visit the redbrick house by the Brunswick River, marvel at the changes, and value opportunities for family to share special times together.

CHRISTMAS BOOK SPECIALS

from our webstore until 25 December! 5-star reviews on Goodreads

Download an eBook now at Booktopia. Info: http://www.ruthbonetti.com/burn-my-letters/

This year I’ll invite others less fortunate to share our bounty.

And may enough ham and turkey reach your end of the table!

Blessings for a happy Christmas!

Independence Centenary of Finnish heroism!

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Ruth Bonetti

Finland–and Finns globally–celebrate today, 6 December! My Grandad’s brother Edvard fought in the Civil War, and his son Rolf in the 1940s to win freedom from Russian overlords.

How Finnish “sisu” won freedom

This typical Finnish tenacity has been described as digging through a cement wall with a spoon, but you keep going. Since exploring my heritage I feel awed by the Finns’ tenacity to wrest freedom from Russian overlords, in true David vs. Goliath fashion.

Hero Edvard (at right) off to the Civil War

Russians invaded again in 1939

My father’s cousin Rolf Back enlisted in 1942 to fight in the crack unit, the Jaegars—on skis! He went on thirty patrols over the Soviet lines into Russian territory, wearing a white camouflage cape. (More of his unique stories next blog.)

CELEBRATION SPECIALS

Read their heroic stories (Special Independence Centenary prices!) Visit http://www.ruthbonetti.com/burn-my-letters/

Download an eBook now at Booktopia. (Did I say Amazon last blog? Working to fix a glitch in that system.)

Opposing sides

Victory owed much to Commander-in-Chief Mannerheim’s deployment of Jaeger regiments trained in Germany and armed with German weapons. During those crucial wars that led to Finland’s freedom (Civil War, Winter War and Continuation War) how did brothers at the other side of the world view the Finland-Russia-German struggle?

Edvard’s brothers Karl Johan Back and Wilhelm Anders Back viewed “The Hun” as their foe. They emigrated to escape conscription into the Russian army. In their land of refuge, Australians rejected conscription in two referenda.

Australian Displays of Patriotism

My grandfather W.A.Back made conspicuous donations to the war effort, second only to the mayor’s. WA raised money by driving people in his new automobile to farewell soldiers—for a fee. He and other family sent loads of provisions to aid Finns and other Europeans .

The pacifist dissenter brother Karl Johan protested his patriotism by writing two books A Consolidated History of Australia and The Royal Toast.
Locals suspected that KJ spied for the Germans, for he tended his bananas on the ridge by lantern light. But what is night to a Finn?
[Excerpt from Award-winning Burn My Letters available at our webstore.]

Jaeger soldier Rolf Back

The sequel Midnight Sun to Southern Cross shares a family view of Finland’s history, more personal memoir and heritage discoveries. 5-star reviews at Goodreads.com and Amazon.

Download now at Booktopia.

Let’s celebrate with the Finns on 6 December!

Writers journey into print

Posted on December 2, 2017 by Ruth Bonetti

Most authors traverse potholes on their paths to print.

Publishers rejected big name authors like J. K. Rowling, John le Carré, C.S. Lewis (800 rejections) and now may regret their decisions. Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind was rejected 38 times before publication. Many self-published and were later “discovered” by big publishers. There’s an idea…

Self-Publish or Perish?

Encouragement is sweet!

At Omega Writers‘ Sydney Conference Awards Night, Burn My Letters was announced winner of the CALEB Nonfiction prize.

Its hero, Karl Johan Back, knew REJECTION. CENSORSHIP.

In 1899, the year “KJ” fled Finland, the Russian regime Board of Censors shut down four newspapers, and seven in 1900.

Why did Russian police track him to Suez? Hint: he described his writing as “pen-fighting.”

KJ self-published two books from his safe haven overlooking Byron Bay. In 1920, he tried to present a Morocco-bound copy of The Royal Toast to the visiting Prince of Wales, hoping for patronage.

PR Photo and Reviews

KJ mailed copies to newspapers. Some reviews were kind, others tepid or cutting:

“It should rank as one of the curiosities of Australian literature.”

“Twenty years ago Mr Back could not speak a word of English but now he is a fluent speaker and has absorbed the ideas and ideals of Australia.”

One noted that KJ was no Tennyson and advised against printing further books. Ouch!

KJ plays the Facebook PR game!

His Facebook page channels through his great-niece author, Ruth. OK, he died in 1962–that’s magical realism!

CHRISTMAS BOOK SPECIALS

from our webstore until 25 December!

5-star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. Download eBooks there.

Celebrate Finland’s Independence

On 6 December, Finland celebrates its Centenary of Independence from Russian overlords. KJ’s brother Edvard fought in the Civil War, and nephew Rolf in the 1040s Continuation War, on ski patrols over the border into Russia (read more in Midnight Sun to Southern Cross). Perhaps KJ’s earlier “pen fighting” contributed in some way?

Christmas Book Flood

In Iceland, books are exchanged as Christmas Eve presents, to be read through the night while eating chocolates. This tradition is part of a season called Jolabokarflod or Christmas Book Flood.

That’s a great idea for a blessed Christmas and rejuvenating rest.

Writing Life Stories

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Ruth Bonetti

What more precious gift to relatives and future generations than to write a family history or memoir? Do it now, before stories and insights are lost to dementia and coffins.

But how? HEAR TIPS IN COMING AUTHOR TALKS

EVERTON HILLS, Brisbane 21 September 7–8.30pm Between the Lines Book Club – Hills Church 79 Queens Rd Everton Hills All welcome.
TOOWONG Library, Friday 22 September 10–11 am. Bookings: 3403 2590
CORINDA Library, Tuesday 26 September 10.30–11.30. Bookings: 3407 7701.

Consider: for whom do you write?

Will you circulate amongst family some copies produced at the local print shop?
Or might your stories resonate with Everyman and Everywoman?

That challenging option, with good marketing and distribution, can reach more readers. If so, one writes with relatives peering over the shoulder, while wondering what flak the finished book might draw. They caution: “Change the names, write a novel, and avoid offence.” Kate Grenville took this sensible option with The Secret River.

My attempts to novelise felt stilted. Why waste my treasure trove of archival letters and diminish a great story? Let the characters speak for themselves. Narrative nonfiction morphed into memoir as I discovered and interpreted stories. Accepting my role as storyteller unlocked the cage to write more freely. Others might write different books, equally valid.

(Photo shows my great-grandparents with Granddad front left, ca. 1895 in Finland.)

Spot the black sheep?

Some families draft ancestors into pens of white and black sheep, with little variegation between. What demons drove the reprobate to that more interesting story? Perhaps perspectives were slanted against him or her? My research validated a black sheep dismissed by my family yet appreciated by those at the other end of the world–who understood what propelled his actions. Avoiding all conflict makes for dull reading and robs readers of the opportunities to learn from generational patterns.

Shame on the family!

What family tree doesn’t sprout illegitimate twigs? Recent generations shrug but Great Aunt Flossie has concealed scandals with hushed euphemisms for her 90 years. She threatens legal action if her family name is besmirched. Living relatives cannot sue on behalf of “defamed” deceased. The defamation twins are libel (written words) and slander (spoken) false or malicious statements that damage someone’s reputation. Avoid pitfalls with nonjudgmental, factual reporting.

If you choose narrative nonfiction, cover yourself with upfront disclaimers: “This is my interpretation…” and intersperse “I imagine that…” and “perhaps…” throughout. Endnotes can delineate fact from elaboration and acknowledge sources.

Dare to share?

Fact checking early drafts might elicit useful information–or invite criticism. Steel yourself for unsolicited advice: “Don’t include aspects that dishonour ancestors…”

Memorise a short but gracious mantra:
“Thank you. I hear what you say. I’ll choose appropriate content with care and prayer.”

Clamp your mouth on time-wasting justifications.

But what is truth?

Contradictions are inevitable when sifting truths from myths of oral history.

Relatives view my many-faceted Grandfather from varied kaleidoscope angles to mine. This is the paradox of history; the events of World War 1 written by people from Germany, France, England or Australia would differ, even contradict in parts. Then, my emigre grandfather viewed “The Hun” as foe; back home in Finland, his brother fought in the Civil War backed by German training and weapons.

Relatives who share letters, documents, information and memories may envisage the book they would write and recoil if your version departs from their preconceptions.

My preferred style is life writing, to look under the surface of dates, events and facts and find the persons beneath. What drove two brothers to flee their native Finland to settle at the far end of the earth? Did they struggle, away from the security of the nest? Of course.

After a decade of research, countless drafts and edits, Burn My Letters and its sequel Midnight Sun to Southern Cross face the world–to positive reviews.

Available on Amazon (hard copy and eBook). Order autographed copies with Paypal at the web store.

(Adapted from a blog in Christian Writers Downunder Blogspot)

Ruth’s Words and Music

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Ruth Bonetti

Queensland winters are balmy, all three weeks of them. Spring is in the air. I must rouse myself from (relative) hibernation to action a hectic time of Author Talks, readings, writers’ festival sessions. And music.

Sunny Sunshine Coast Book Launch

Sunshine Coast International Readers and Writers Festival director Wendy O’Hanlon launches Midnight Sun to Southern Cross at 10.15 on Sunday 13 August.

“Writing Life Stories: Herding Black Sheep, Cupboard Skeletons and Libel Threats!”

Coolum, Saturday 12 August 11.30am.

Ruth urges; “What more precious gift to relatives and future generations than to write a family history or memoir? Do it now, before stories and insights are lost to dementia and coffins. This session offers tips to chart through choppy familial waters.”

FinnFest presentation, Sat 19 August 11 am

A tale of two brothers (the black sheep and the powerhouse businessman) who emigrated from Finland to Australia round 1900 to escape conscription into the Russian army. Book signing and presentation hosted by Finncare. Video and audio footage and photographs illustrate readings from archival letters and Ruth’s books: Burn My Letters and Midnight Sun to Southern Cross.

Includes live music:

Sibelius’ Swan of Tuonela played by Finnish musician Emily Salonen (cor anglais) with pianist Peter Crane.
Ruth will play a Menuetto by Finnish composer Bernhard Crusell on clarinet.
Finnish music from her grandfather’s home village played by string quartet.

See book reviews on Amazon (hard copy and eBook) and Goodreads (Feel free to add your own comments.)

Or buy autographed copies at the web store.
Brisbane Library Author Talks

Readings from Midnight Sun to Southern Cross of Ruth’s childhood memories of W. A. Back’s iconic Art Deco Hawken Drive “Big House with a lift in it!” and his part in the early development of St Lucia.

What drove her Finnish Migrant-Made-Good grandfather?

He emigrated in 1902 to escape conscription into the Russian army.

ASHGROVE Library, Saturday 2 September 1–2pm. Bookings: 07 3407 1940
TOOWONG Library, Friday 22 September 10–11 am. Bookings: 3403 2590
CORINDA Library, Tuesday 26 September 10.30–11.30. Bookings: 3407 7701

FREE events but bookings essential.

(For details type Ruth Bonetti in the RH search web space.)

And Music

The Brisbane Symphony Orchestra season of delicious Mozart and Mahler is a pleasure to rehearse. We’ll perform Marriage of Figaro Overture, Piano Concerto No 22 with Suzanna Hlinka and Mahler 4th Symphony on 10 September (Sunshine Coast) and 17 September (Brisbane).

Life is never dull! Seize the moment. Enjoy.

And enjoy reading Jeanette O’Hagan’s review!

Out-Shine Competition and impress judges

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Ruth Bonetti

You’re about to walk into a public spotlight. How to present a glowing, winning persona and performance? Communicate confidence based on your solid preparation and ability…

Whether your platform is words or music

It’s music competition season and my students compete this weekend. My lesson tips are refreshed from recent adjudicating at Mt Isa Eisteddfod, west of my birthplace. The train passed our sheep property, but never carried me west to Mt Isa.

My recent memoir Midnight Sun to Southern Cross describes my outback childhood and steps on my journey to become a Classical musician and educator. Of my culture shock when plunged into city schools after correspondence lessons in remote Queensland and transition from shy outback child into one who now enjoys communicating.

Covers-1 Read on for Tips to Shine.

But first, sound a gong!

I’m thrilled that Burn My Letters is shortlisted for the CALEB 2017 Nonfiction competition. It’s the first book of my saga.

Winners will be announced at the Omega Writers Conference in Sydney 29 October.

Preparation: Remote control and sound test before if possible

What an experience to adjudicate recorder players via webinar at the Mt Isa School of the Air. How impressive that teachers instruct with no visual cues or demonstration so remote youngsters can learn music and compete.

FullSizeRender 2

Rural Internet is too poor for Skype so judging was on pure sound, no visuals. Young recorder competitors blew too close to the mic so I jumped in my chair at their initial raw sounds.

Performance Tips for Backstage

• Hand on forehead and slow deep breaths calms excess adrenaline.
• Buzz lips to prevent tension squeaks (clarinet and saxophone).
• Stand against a wall for upright posture.
• BREATHE!

Make a positive first impression

Walk on with upright posture that says ‘I am the greatest!’ Smile or exude gravitas.
Take a moment to poise before beginning. Breathe.

Tips to stand out from the crowd

When many deserve places the adjudicator prays for someone to shine. Colour your performance/presentation with wide range of dynamics/tonal colour. Just as actors exaggerate their vocal tone, facials and body language, so winning musicians exaggerate and contrast dynamics.

In my own coming presentations…

Sunshine Coast International Readers and Writers Festival director Wendy O’Hanlon launches Midnight Sun at 10.15 on 13 August at Coolum.

I’ll share tips on Writing Memoir and Historical Biography Saturday 12 August 11.30.

FinnFest Presentation 19 August 11am at Finlandia Village, 343 Cleveland-Redland Bay Road, Thornlands Brisbane

Includes live music:

Sibelius’ Swan of Tuonela played by Emily Salonen (cor anglais) with Peter Crane (piano).
I’ll play a Menuetto by Finnish composer Bernhard Crusell on clarinet.
Finnish music from my grandfather’s home village played by string quartet.

I’ll remind myself that:

A mistake, glitch, or fluffed note is not doom. (I tell my clarinet students ‘If you squeak, make it a good one!’)

Think ‘Even though I stuff up I love and appreciate and respect myself!’

Communicate with listeners! Eye contact that interview panel or conference audience.

Play or speak musically with beautiful tone, and above all…

ENJOY your performance!

Books are available on Amazon (hard copy and eBook). Autographed copies via Paypal at the web store. ruthbonetti.com

Ginger up your confidence

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Ruth Bonetti

The symptoms of nerves can be similar whether we present through words or music. Blame that old bogey fight-or-flight. Learn to channel excess adrenalin into energy and you can shine in the spotlight.

Spotlight takes you out of your comfort zone?

Participants at my recent Communication Confidence training day were primed to deliver a three-minute speech. One shared that past presentations caused severe nausea. She was reassured to hear seasoned performers also suffer:

Even Oscar-winning actors?

Dustin Hoffman found live acting far more stressful than filming. When performing Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in London, he spent so much of his off-stage time in the bathroom that a plaque was attached to the door. It proclaimed ‘Dustin Hoffman is here’ and was signed by all the cast. (Excerpt from Don’t Freak Out–Speak Out).

After deep breathing and massaging pressure points, (and more tips below) Andrea spoke fluently, especially in an extempore segment.

Next day she emailed: ‘Yes, I did step out of my comfort zone but I felt pretty good about myself last night when I reflected on my day.’ She was willing to be quoted as ‘it will be good to help others and even better that I am not alone in these feelings.’

Sharing does help!

Now that I’ve overcome my own agonising childhood and adolescence shyness, I’m glad to help others by sharing, both in training/coaching and in my recent memoir Midnight Sun to Southern Cross;

(That’s me on the left, in front of purgatory Ironside State School. I write how dreaded headmaster Mr. Murray petrified me–and others including Alan Jones!)

When I now coach people to boost their confidence in presentations, I can say ‘The person you are now is not who you will be in a decade or two or five. If I can conquer such shyness and fears, even welcome public performance, so can you.’ For I evolved from a shy outback child who hid in the toilet block rather than face fearsome peers into an adult who welcomes any platform to reach out with words and music.

That’s Granddad WA Back standing in the driver’s seat (under ‘Ruth’) in 1924 when this Migrant-made-good brought his family on a whirlwind world tour home to Finland.

Welcome to my BOOK SIGNING 1 July, 11am–2pm.

Come to Mary Ryan’s Books and Coffee at Milton. Have a chat, see photos of development of St Lucia and my grandfather’s 1950s Art Deco ‘Big House’ with an elevator in it.

I quote a cousin’s anecdote:

Granddad telephoned in the 1960s.

‘Please come quickly, there’s a woman in the bath and she won’t get out.’ A vagrant had knocked on the door and the ever hospitable Grandma offered her food and drink. In her dementia, she agreed when the woman announced ‘I would like a bath.’ Police evicted this uninvited guest from the bathroom.

Too far to travel? Where can we buy books?

See reviews on Amazon (hard copy and eBook). Autographed copies at the web store (and these have bonus inside cover photographs!)

More quick fix tips for nerves

Ginger is excellent for calming upset stomachs. Drink lemon and ginger tea or infuse grated fresh ginger in hot water.
Some prevent nausea by wearing acupressure magnets on elastic wristbands.
Massage the pressure point (called Neigun or PC6) which is located about two finger breadths above the wrist crease, between the two main tendons on the inner forearm. Press firmly or stroke towards the wrist. (Stroking from this point towards the elbow can induce vomiting.) This pressure point is also useful for treating shortness of breath, insomnia and anxiety.
Massage or press tender points in a radius of five centimetres around the navel to relieve emotional stress.

Presentation Confidence Training and Coaching

Now these books are published I have more time for presentations, training and coaching. Email to discuss how you or your organisation could benefit.

And enjoy reading the books! As did Jeanette O’Hagan (thanks for the review!)

Lift off then wind down

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Ruth Bonetti

We throw everything into meeting that goal, whether a words or music performance, a publication or a submission. We’re powered by adrenalin, propped up by caffeine, alcohol or whatever. We must plan ahead to circumvent potential adrenal fatigue–as I did, in the last week before my launch of Midnight Sun to Southern Cross on 23 April.

Finnish touches

The launch was a buzz, including a short recital using the St Lucia Uniting Church organ that my Finnish grandfather W.A. Back donated in 1954. Finnish oboist Emily Salonen played The Swan of Tuonela by Sibelius. The Finn Choir sang a moving Finlandia. Sound and video footage of central characters were played.

Guests enjoyed delicious Finnish Pulla and Lihapiirakka baked by chef Bianca Kasurinen, who worked with Jamie Oliver and in NY restaurants.

Praise for Midnight Sun to Southern Cross

“A fascinating story of lives disrupted by wars; of those who sought their fortune in foreign lands, and those who were left behind.”–Annika Wiklund-Engblom, PhD. Third generation of those who stayed and always wondered.

Tell me the story…

In the tradition of great family migration stories, Midnight Sun to Southern Cross continues the saga of the Back brothers’ flight from Russian-occupied Finland to Australia as the nineteenth century turned into the twentieth. From frozen Finland to the lush rainforests of northern New South Wales, to the dry and dusty sheep country of western Queensland, you follow the highs and lows of their new life under the Southern Cross.

It is an extraordinary tale of success, failure, hard work and dreaming. What drove the wheeler-dealer Wilhelm Anders Back, known as WA, to become in his time Australia’s richest Finn? And what stirred his eccentric writerly elder brother Karl Johan, KJ, pacifist and political dissenter? What of those who stayed behind in Finland, and bravely struggled to oust the Russians from their homeland? This book, and its predecessor, Burn My Letters, are timely in the centenary year of Finnish Independence.

WA’s granddaughter Ruth contrasts his and KJ’s formative years in Finland with her own upbringing in outback Queensland. Her voyage of discovery and self-discovery uncovers research in Finland and Australia, and interweaves her own transformation from shy bush girl to speaker and musician.

It is an extraordinary tale of success, failure, hard work and dreaming.

What drove the wheeler-dealer Wilhelm Anders Back, known as WA, to become in his time Australia’s richest Finn? And what stirred his eccentric writerly elder brother Karl Johan, KJ, pacifist and political dissenter? What of those who stayed behind in Finland, and bravely struggled to oust the Russians from their homeland? This book, and its predecessor, Burn My Letters, are timely in the centenary year of Finnish Independence.

Read more at http://www.ruthbonetti.com/burn-my-letters/

Both Midnight Sun to Southern Cross and its predecessor Burn My Letters are $28 each, or special price of $50 for both books via Web orders at http://www.ruthbonetti.com/

Hear more about the saga.

How can we plan to prevent adrenal fatigue?

Eat regular meals, especially a solid breakfast, or “graze” on healthy snacks every few hours to maintain blood sugar levels.
Consult with your doctor, naturopath or nutritionist in case certain supplements may boost your energy.
Unwind in a warm bath with your mix of essential oils, bubbles and Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate).
Schedule some ‘Me’ time each week and enough sleep.

Down-time to ease adrenal fatigue

That big event goes well. Relief (but you worked hard, didn’t you?) You read a chapter of a light book. Exhausted, sleep evades. Wriggly overcharge. Mind buzzes. Restless, aching legs.

Or up-time

Thinks: I need shoulder stands, stretching exercises. A cobra or two, the ‘tranquility pose.’ Nah, too tired to get up. Maybe if I just lift my legs in bed, that’ll do. Maybe not.

So then I crawl out from the blankets, stretch, ‘lift the mountain’ with my arms. Touch my toes. Elevate my legs. Muscles creak gratefully. Breathe. Sleep.