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After Story

By: Larissa Behrendt
Narrated by: Tamala Shelton, Shari Sebbens
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Publisher's Summary

When a mother and daughter take the overseas trip of a lifetime, they discover that the past is never quite behind them.

When Indigenous lawyer Jasmine decides to take her mother, Della, on a tour of England's most revered literary sites, Jasmine hopes it will bring them closer together and help them reconcile the past.

Twenty-five years earlier, the disappearance of Jasmine's older sister devastated their tight-knit community. This tragedy returns to haunt Jasmine and Della when another child mysteriously goes missing on Hampstead Heath. As Jasmine immerses herself in the world of her literary idols - including Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters and Virginia Woolf - Della is inspired to rediscover the wisdom of her own culture and storytelling. But sometimes the stories that are not told can become too great to bear.

Ambitious and engrossing, After Story celebrates the extraordinary power of words and the quiet spaces between. We can be ready to listen, but are we ready to hear?

Prof. Larissa Behrendt is a Eualeyai/Kamillaroi woman. She is the professor of law and director of research at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology, Sydney.

She is admitted to the Supreme Court of the ACT and NSW as a barrister. Larissa is a land commissioner at the Land and Environment Court and the alternate chair of the Serious Offenders Review Board, a member of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia and a founding member of the Australian Academy of Law. She is the chair of the Humanities and Creative Arts panel of the Australian Research Council College of Experts. She is the author of several books on Indigenous legal issues.

She won the 2002 David Uniapon Award and a 2005 Commonwealth Writer's Prize for her novel Home. Larissa is a board member of the Museum of Contemporary Art, a board member of Tranby Aboriginal College and a director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre. She was named as 2009 NAIDOC Person of the Year.

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©2021 Larissa Behrendt (P)2021 Audible Australia Pty Ltd.

Critic Reviews

"A moving story of going far away to find home again - a beautiful, hopeful book." (Kate Grenville)

"A literary tour that speaks to the imagination, connecting the cannon of English literature to the lives of a mother and daughter whose own stories have been untold, Larissa weaves an exquisite tapestry that talks to our common humanity that lives within the stories we collect, treasure and share." (Rachel Griffiths)

"After Story is a work of great originality. It is a tale of discovery and understanding, envisioned through the shared experiences of Della and Jasmine on a journey to the 'old country', a place that is not theirs. Through Della and Jasmine we come to understand the depths of familial love, with poignancy, humour and true storytelling." (Tony Birch)

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What listeners say about After Story

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Enchanting, heartwarming, revealing

The characters are wonderfully real. The different perspectives of the 2 main characters show the rawness of troubled relationships within families and in society.
I want an Auntie Elaine.
Thank you for writing this, it gives me a deeper insight to the qualities of a proud culture.

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6 people found this helpful

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Reflecive

I adore the reflective tone of this book. So many vast social, racial, personal, contemporary and historical issues are visited in such a human and personal way. This book is embued with loving acceptance and gentle understanding 💕

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3 people found this helpful

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Great story right to the end

As someone who also has a somewhat difficult relationship with their mother, this story truly resonated. I finished it while out walking on a cold winter morning with tears streaming down my cheeks. Thank you for telling this story. It was quite beautiful.

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3 people found this helpful

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Highly recommended!!

Beautifully written and read. I very much enjoyed my time spent with Della and Jasmine. It left me with much to mull over. The characters jump off the page and if I could I would give Della a big hug.

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2 people found this helpful

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Loved every second of this book

Perfect narration, amazing story and so much that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommend this one.

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2 people found this helpful

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Excellent story, fantastic narration.

It was not what I expected and I was pleasantly surprised! Such a great story.

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Brilliant!

This is a thoughtful and insightful story about generational pain, and the weight of unshared stories. It is so well written. It has many poignant moments but at no point does it get to heavy for the reader to carry. I wish I could find the words to ‘sell’ a five star book like this but I guess if I could then I’d be the author. All I can say is it’s excellent. And the narration does it justice.

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1 person found this helpful

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Beautiful story ❤️

I loved this book. I loved the way you hear both sides of their lives.

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1 person found this helpful

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Larissa Behrendt

I hadn't read anything by the author before and I loved this book and will read more by her.

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Loved it, thank you

This story has me in tears one minute and chuckling the next. Incredibly touching and heart warming. Loved Della so much. Narrators were wonderful.

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.