
I have just finished reading “Unforgiving” by Carmel Beresford, about the life and death of her 21-year-old son, Sam. With the love of a mother, Carmel writes beautifully and along with her determination to seek justice for Sam, this story is one that stirred many emotions and had me crying into its pages. Carmel’s story highlights too, the plight of our farmers and those in remote areas. It’s about wading through flood waters to get to school, about shooting old ewes because nobody wants to buy them, and it’s about the heartbreak of drought and the joy of rain. Dorothea McKellar got it right when she wrote, “I Love a Sunburnt Country”, especially, ‘her beauty and her terror, this wide brown land for me’. What stands out to me is that Sam Beresford was not just raised by loving parents Mick and Carmel, but by mother-country-Australia, which is why he loved his life on the land so much. I could lend you my copy of “Unforgiving” but if you buy it for yourself, you are not only helping out a farmer, you are keeping farming families in our daily thoughts and prayers. Most importantly, you will be honouring the memory of Sam Beresford, his love of country, and that Aussie larrikinism that we love and embrace. www.unforgiving.com.au https://www.facebook.com/Unforgiving-The-Story-of-the-Life-and-Death-of-Sam-1913919935584548/