Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Indira Naidoo, Murdoch Books, $32.99.
“For as long as I can remember, there has always been just the three of us. Three sisters. Only a year between each. Inseparable. It’s been like that for almost 50 years … Until my youngest sister walked out into her suburban backyard and took her life.”
Broadcaster Indira Naidoo shares a poignant story of love and loss – and the joy that can be found just around the corner. It’s palpable.
Indira is the eldest, the leader of the pack, bossy and extroverted. Dreamcatcher is the idle one, fiercely loyal, the conciliator, kind and gentle. Stargirl is the youngest, the dark outlier, the brilliant non-conformist.
Their transglobal childhood knit them even closer. Then on a chilly autumn night their world was shattered. Stargirl took her own life – without any explanation. What compelled her to end her life? She was a mother and a wife, a Walkley Award-winning journalist with a Master’s degree, a media adviser to state premiers.
As we walk with Naidoo through the pages of their lives, we get an emotional insight as she charts her search to find the light again in the dark places. It takes a “wise old tree” that “helped me put myself back together”.
Turning to her urban landscape for solace, Indira found herself drawn to a fig tree overlooking Sydney harbour. A connection began to build between the two – one with a fractured heart, the other a centurion offering quiet companionship while asking nothing in return. It took the magical power of nature to heal.
Grief is personal and universal at the same time, a journey everyone experiences very differently. Naidoo uses Ernest Hemmingway’s advice, in the final chapter, to reflect on the lessons learned and bravery discovered by spending time in nature, learning to listen to what is freely there to be uncovered.
“Write hard and clear about what hurts.” As long as you can see the stars, you can never truly be lost.
