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.
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.
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.
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.
In March 1937, 70 years ago, the University of Queensland foundation stone was laid. Book 2 of the Back Saga documents the development of St Lucia, and my grandfather W. A. Back’s part in the Coronation Park Ltd syndicate. This developed 148 acres of which the University resumed 200 blocks of land bought with 
