A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey

by Albert B. Facey

Albert Barnett Facey was born in 1894 in Maidstone, Victoria & grew up on the Kalgoorlie goldfields & in the wheat-belt of Western Australia. His father died before he was two. He was deserted by his mother soon afterwards. He was looked after by his grandmother until he was eight, when he went out to work. His many jobs included droving, hammering spikes on the railway line from Merredin to Wickepin & boxing in a travelling troupe.He was in the 11th Battalion at the Gallipoli landing. After the war, he became a farmer under the Soldier Settlement Scheme but was forced off the land during the Depression. He joined the tramways & was active in the Tramways Union. Having no formal education, he taught himself to read & write. He made the first notes of his life soon after WWI, filling notebooks with accounts of his experiences. Finally, on his children's urging, he submitted a hand-written manuscript to the Fremantle Arts Centre Press. He died in 1982, nine months after A Fortunate Life had been published to wide acclaim. "I have lived a very good life, it has been very rich & full. I have been very fortunate & I am thrilled by it when I look back."--A.B. Facey

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Australia, Classics, Memoir, History, Autobiography

Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this by recommendation of my daughter, and the owner of Dymocks when spending a Christmas voucher. Excellent choice!

I have to say this is a thoroughly thoughtfully told life story, of Albert Barnett Facey, an Australian born in 1894. The mere fact we are able to read the story of his remarkable life is testament to his hard work and tenacity; having taught himself to read and write. Albert had a hard life, being forced to work laboriously from age 9, working his little heart out for at times, little or no money, sometimes for people of little or no morals. He had remarkable bush skills. His stories are told with candour and humour; he tells us simply how it was. Self-deprecating and deathly honest, I imagine him to have been a very calming soul. From wrestling pigs (to be eaten for lunch) to working for the Employees’ Union of Workers, he was heavily committed to his family and country, landing at Gallipoli and surviving that terrible ordeal.

On his beloved surroundings and birds: They made the bush a beautiful place and helped one forget about loneliness... the birds and animals of the bush were all great company and very nice to see and hear. I loved the bush.

On the harsh responsibility thrust upon a thirteen-year-old boy: . So, with these instructions, they set off on their much needed holiday. I felt very proud of myself – my fourteenth birthday wasn’t until the next month but they had enough confidence in me to leave me to look after their possessions. I was a little scared at first, but soon settled to doing the daily chores. At night I used to roam around with my rifle and make sure everything was safe. I even put in an extra wire around the sheep gate in case the dingoes troubled them.

His thoughts on war: Some men who didn’t go got a rough time, but we never said anything to them because we thought they had some brains. I would have stayed behind if I had known.

This is what I mean about his quality of having ‘enough’ and being at peace: I have never felt like I was tied down to any one place or any one job. I have always felt that I could sell out or walk off at any time. It didn’t matter. I never ever worried about trying something different or having a go at something. I have always believed that if you want to do something you usually can.

On his beloved: She died at seven o’clock in my arms. We had been married for fifty-nine years, eleven months and twelve days. So on this day the loveliest and most beautiful woman left me.” . I adore this writing.

This is so beautiful: I have lived a good a very good life, it has been very rich and full. I have been very fortunate and I am thrilled by it when I look back.

I loved this softly spoken and honest story. No fanfare and fuss free for this busy age we live in. So glad my 16-year-old daughter tells me this is her favourite book.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, I must say how much I enjoyed this book and what an extraordinary read it was. This story takes us on a journey of Albert Barnett Facey's life.

Albert's mother deserted him when he was only two years old. From that day forward Albert would have to grow up rather quickly. Having to start work at an early age was only the start for Albert, but he made the most of each day and tackled whatever life threw at him whether it be working hard on a farm or going off to war.

A beautifully written story that I have no hesitation in HIGHLY recommending.

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those amazing books where you just can't find enough superlatives to convey exactly how much you enjoyed it and/or the impact it had on you. As a school student and as an adult you often hear tales of how difficult life was for previous generations, but it is only through reading a first hand account like this one, that you really "get" it.

Born in 1894 in Victoria, Albert Facey faced many and varied challenges right from the get go. Yet you get the sense that right from his earliest memories he was a determined and positive person who was always going to make his way through life due to continued perseverance and simple hard work. Abandoned by his mother at age 4 and raised by his grandmother, he was put out to work at an age where it would be considered child abuse/labour in these times. Unable to continue any kind of formal education he set about learning through the university of life and among many other things taught himself to read and write. Like many of his generation he was faced with the spectre of war and fought at Gallipoli. After coming home he learned how to be a farmer and once again, through an amazing work ethic and can-do attitude he made a success of that.

One of the magical things about this book is knowing that a generation of men/women like this will never exist again, simply because we have so much more now. Even those in dire hardship at least have the backstop of Government support, something that didn't exist then. Also there are many things you just can't do now without permits/permission/qualifications etc, but in these times anyone who was willing to have a go at something could do so.

Facey is an engaging and natural storyteller and you have to remind yourself as you read that is is a man who had no formal education. The language is simple but compelling and you really don't want it to end. Facey is an old-fashioned gentleman, something that comes through in the various tales within this wonderful book. It is a true historical account, a glimpse back into yesteryear more entertaining and rich than many other "official" historical documents.

Overall a brilliant, inspirational book that will help you understand what an amazing job the pioneers of this country did to help create the freedom and lifestyle we enjoy today.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

And that’s the way it was.

I would often go into the bush and watch the birds and think in some ways they were like me – they had to fend for themselves as soon as the mother bird thought that they were old enough.

Abandoned by his mother at the tender age of two, Albert Facey lived with some of his siblings and his grandparents in Victoria until 1899 when his Grandma decided to take them all to Perth in Western Australia where they would reunite with family. Bert’s granddad had recently died and they were struggling to make ends meet.

But Bert’s mother was unable, and unwilling to take her children back, so they moved into the bush with an Aunt and Uncle, making a life with the Government grant of land, building their own farm and clearing the bush. The life was a hard one, and as Bert moved through his, he suffered cruelty from some, compassion and kindness from others.

Bert was known for his honesty, never breaking a promise when it was made; his courage was such that he was admired and liked by many. As he grew, he was determined to learn to read and write, feeling embarrassed by his lack of knowledge. Bert suffered the horrors of WWI where he just survived Gallipoli, being honourably discharged through injury. When he met Evelyn, she became the love of his life – their long marriage produced seven children and twenty-eight grandchildren.

This extraordinary man was a very humble man, a man who believed he was very fortunate for the life he’d had; when his book won awards and prizes, he had no idea what all the fuss was about!

What a wonderful, inspirational book! So very Australian and one everyone should read at sometime in their lives. I’m very glad I have!

[Dillwynia Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this book with mixed feelings: the descriptions of the opening of the Western Australian Wheatbelt, and an Australia so foreign to us make the book wonderful; and yet, I felt it was too long in places and wondered when it would ever end. I am also very suspicious of the accurate dates and names of people recounted 70 years after the fact. Facey couldn’t write during the interesting aspects of his life, so there were no diaries to rely on.

Books on areas being developed, by those that actually did the work, are rare. Mostly, this is due to either the workers were illiterate, or was something their kind didn’t do: books were written by educated people in the city. This makes this book very valuable indeed. It’s not a dry, factual book, but one that is full of emotion. Facey had an awful 1st 15 years: the 1890s Depression meant his family split up, then his father died, and his mother left him at a very early age. When his grandmother became a widow, and with no such thing as welfare, she did the only smart thing and emigrated to Western Australia to be with the extended family. She was incredibly fortunate that her son-in-law took her & his nieces & nephews in on a virgin block of land.

The excitement of this book are these first 15 years: he is enslaved- his family mistakenly thinks he is employed as a companion, worked on various early settled blocks of land, odd jobbing in the city and country, working on building the wheatbelt railways, and even a stint as a drover from the eastern Pilbara. There are amazingly generous people, often complete strangers, and then you have those villains - those that exploit others, and those that are put into untenable places, such as Facey's mother. She certainly doesn't come out in a favourable light.

His personal accounts of active service in the Gallipoli conflict was one of the 1st to be published and are harrowing. It is hardly surprising that returned servicemen refused to discuss this with their families nor glorified war. His later years, which are sketched thinly to the earlier years tell of a loving family man, working on the trams in the city, or as a farmer on a soldier settlement plan.
He was a person who could not stop working, and it is really only on doctor’s advice, as an elderly man that he does finally stop. For him – work is everything and the concept of not working was too foreign to his ideals.

The book has a yarn/ storytelling feel about it. In his earlier years, he must have retold his stories to family and others, which probably explains the recalling of details so many decades after the fact. Facey never had a formal education. He managed to miss it as a small child – the 1890s Depression & necessary to work meant he wasn’t able to attend any school. The necessity of having to work at the age of 8 meant that he was illiterate until his early twenties when job opportunities were not obtainable till he could read & write. Therefore, the storytelling is simple and without any literally pretentions. At times, this can be uninspiring to the reader as phrases are repeated to describe feelings. The vocabulary is limited; which does give it an authentic flavour.

Some people get really hung up on the Gallipoli section of this book. There have been essays comparing the official record with Facey’s experience. They don’t match and this calls into question is he lying & how much else is false?? The war experience is not what makes this book – there are subsequent better war diaries from the battlefield. What is important is the personal level of the experience, and really, if the war period was dropped from the book, the tale would increase, not diminish. The really important aspect is the personal aspect of the development of the Wheatbelt region – that is what makes this book great.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

While in the second hand store looking for books to read during my month in Costa Rica I came across the memoir, A Fortunate Life. My idea was to read books while traveling around CR and then leave them in whatever city I finished them thus making more room available in my suitcase to bring home souvineers. After reading this book, no, reading is the wrong word ....um...living ...experiencing ...empathizing ...something like that, I have determined my life will have one less souvineer so that I might bring back home this classic book for my personal library. An Aussie friend down here told me it's a very famous book in Australia (He's an english teacher) and recommended to everyone else at our lunch table. I too recommend this jump into the world of a small boy in the wilds of Australia during the early part of the 20th century.

[Joss · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Australian classic that somehow I had not read before. I thought it would probably be a little boring, but in fact I found it a wonderful read. Even more so because I once lived in the Great Southern District of Western Australia, where Albert’s childhood was spent. Not that he had much childhood. It reminded me of how our early settlers struggled to survive. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Australian Social History.

I gave this book 5 Stars.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fortunate Life is the only book written by Australian author, Albert Bernard Facey. The author recounts the events of his life from the late 19th century through to 1976. There are no literary devices employed: this is simple narration, the honest telling of a tale by a marvellous storyteller. What makes it such a great read is that it contains so many details of everyday life in an era devoid of the convenience of electronics, modern day appliances and fast, convenient travel and communication. How much things cost and how they were done will be a revelation to present day readers. Facey relates, often in a matter-of-fact manner, the events of a childhood filled with hardship and lacking parental love, yet he considers his life fortunate. Facey experienced much is his eighty-eight years: building a humpy, trapping possums, slaughtering animals, harvesting grain, killing dingoes, kangaroos and emus for the bounty, a massive cattle drive, being lost in the outback, being stuck down a well, laying railway tracks, prize-fighting, conducting and driving trams and buses, farming sheep, cattle, poultry and pigs, growing wheat, Gallipoli and the Depression. He lost his father, sister, brothers, mother, grandmother, his son and his wife. And yet, he also encountered many kind strangers and neighbours who were unstinting in their help. This edition contains maps and illustrations and an afterword by Jan Carter. Interesting and inspirational.

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given me by a woman of Italian ancestry who was raised in Australia. In handing it over she noted that it was a text familiar to most Australisns. Having the impression that it was fictional I wasn't sure I'd read it. Given our friendship, however, I resolved to give it a try.

As it happens this is an autobiography of one Albert B. Facey, born just before the turn of one century and dead shortly before the beginning of the next. The focus of the work is on the first quarter of the twentieth century and most of that in Western Australia wheat-belt region. Being primarily self-educated, he is an author without pretensions, the story of his life being told straight and clear.

And a hard life it was! His father having died, his mother abandoned him and most of his siblings in early childhood, leaving them in the care of a widowed grandmother who took them to what was then a rather wild and underpopulated area in western Australia. Disappointment followed disappointment, leaving Facey, beginning at the age of eight, to substantially fend for himself as a hired hand. Often unpaid and sometimes abused, he went from job to job, working on farms, driving cattle, boxing etc. until enlisting in the Australian army during the first war. Serving in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, he returned home, substantially disabled.

This was the hardest part of his life and fills most of the memoir. The rest, over sixty years, was better, not because he became successful, but because he met and happily married a woman with whom he raised a family. As his unhappy early life was characterized by loneliness and abandonment, his adult life was 'fortunate', despite the Depression, despite his disabilities, because of others: because of her, because of their children, because of his comrades in his union and because of the voters in his constituencies.

I've read many, many autobiographies, most by famous people, most quite self-conscious, many defensive. Other than the memoirs, most of them oral, most of them much shorter, of ordinary American workers, this is one of the best, because most honest and substantial, autobiographies I've ever encountered. I found it quite moving.

A final note. There is one man I've personally known in my life whose own story resembled Facey's. That was Paul Berquist, my former wife's maternal grandfather. Born in Sweden to coppersmiths, a veteran of the Swedish airforce (back in biplane days), an immigrant to the USA, he rose to become an independent tool and die maker in Chicago while raising a family and participating in virtually every fraternal organization I'd ever heard of. Like Facey, Paul was the kind of man who could live off the land, build his own house and fix virtually anything. Like Facey and unlike myself, I'd say much of his life was hard, but very well lived--lived until his ninety-sixth year, a model to all of us fortunate enough to have known him.

[Laura C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't be enthusiastic enough about this autobiography by Albert Facey. This is the kind of book that you read aloud to your kids when they are beginning to be bored with you reading to them. Albert Facey was born in 1894 in Australia. Abandoned by his mother at age 4, he was raised by his grandmother in the goldfields of western Australia. He was let out to work at age 8. Completely self taught, he was unflinchingly hard working. He escaped from drunken employers after they beat him with a bullwhip, rode a horse in a 1000 mile cattle march, got lost, stayed alive by chewing grass until he was rescued by native Australians, taught himself to read and write, learned to farm cattle, chickens and pigs, and had the adventures to prove it. He served at Gallipoli, a terribly bloody and difficult battle in WWI, where, by strange cooincidence he recieved a care package there from the woman he would later marry ...the stories are too many to list. Through it all he was an old-fashioned gentleman, honest, true and chaste. He promised his grandma he would never drink, and he never did. This is a book that reminds us what is good and fine about mankind, told clean and true. I loved it!

[Laura Tenfingers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I unfortunately did not enjoy this book. I felt it was full of very interesting information but was written in such a way as to be extremely boring.

Now, I mean no offense to Albert B. Facey. He was illiterate until a teenager and then only learned from workbooks on his own after long days of hard labour. I believe everything he did was commendable. But honestly, although the author presents a lot of interesting information about early 20th century Western Australia, I was distracted by his writing his story as if he had kept an extremely detailed journal since the age of four. The fact that he was absolutely amazing at everything he ever tried probably didn't help either.

Had this not been a book club read I doubt I would have made it even half way.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary!!! I was riveted by Albert B. Facey’s story from the first page. This book blew me away, I don’t think words can express how much I adored this novel. His modestly written autobiography is an inspiration. The struggles and hardships he endured throughout most of his life was sad to read about but Albert Facey believed he had a fortunate life. Truly awe-inspiring.
Describing the horrors he experienced at Gallipoli in World War I was extremely upsetting and I couldn’t help but cry buckets.

An incredible and magnificent story that should be read by everyone. Highly highly recommended.

*Book #6 of the 2019 Aussie male author challenge

*Book #15/72 of my coffee table to-read pile challenge

[Colleen Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Albert Facey was born around the time of Australia's Federation. If the author had been more aware of the conventions and devices of writing and a great deal more literate he might have made more of this and perhaps even changed the date of his birth to get a perfect fit. But neither Facey nor his country (and let's face it, Australia is the other main character in this book) was sophisticated or learned. Facey is born poverty in rural Victoria. Things go from bad to worse for his family and over time. As a young boy Facey finds himself virtually alone in the world having to work for a living. The people he encounters do what they must to survive and while some of them people treat Facey with compassion, others seek to take advantage of him. There is cruelty and there is kindness, though perhaps not in equal measure.

It is the simplicity with which Facey tells his tale as he carves out his life parallel to a young nation forging its identity and place in the world, that draws the reader in. Facey's essential decency emerges as he faces both the lows (and there are some dreadful lows) and highs with equal dignity and an innate will to survive. Other reviewers note Facey's dispassionate response to his own hardships and those of others. For me, this suggested humility, but in truth it is more likely to be a trick of memory. These things happened, I survived, I'm proud I survived and proud to have had such an eventful life. I won't spoil your view of me by whinging and whining retrospectively.

Our two heroes chart their course through Federation, hard times in rural Victoria, the opening up of new lands in West Australia, the establishment of the primary industries that we now rely ( built on the blood, sweat and tears of ordinary men and women), two world wars, the depression and on into more prosperous times. Should the unthinkable ever happen and the civilised world disappear, make sure you save a copy of this book to guide you as you rebuild your life in a world where your only resource is what nature provides.

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a life did A.B. Facey lead. Sent to work in the Western Australian wheat district at the age of 9, his early employers used him as slave labour including one who horse-whipped him. He learnt a lot of practical things related to farming and by the age of 16 was able to manage properties. He kept moving from job to job and seemed to be industrious, no nonsense, very capable and intelligent chap. WWI sent him to Gallipoli and he returned in late in 1915 with serious internal injuries. He has an amazing connection when he mets his wife and they stayed together for 50 years and 6 kids. Move jobs, more moves and constant challenges.
The books enduring legacy is the social history it paints and the remainder of what a tough life really is. The writing is not great with language that is quite flat and monotonic. But it is an extraordinary story of a man who was much more than ordinary.

[Cecily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the autobiography of Bert Facey, born in Australia in 1894. His father died when he was two and shortly afterwards Bert and most of his siblings were abandoned by their mother. He was raised in agricultural poverty by his wonderful grandmother, but sent away to work aged 8, from which point he largely made his own way in the world, without ever attending school.

Over more than 70 years, he went from one job to another, all over the country, and apart from one employer (who beat him nearly to death) and his mother, almost everyone is very kind to him and almost everything he does he is fantastic at. And he does a lot of things: all sorts of agricultural labouring (arable and livestock); hunting; assistant cook for drovers; farm manager; building and repairing dams and wells; league footballer; boxer; laying rail road; soldier; tram conductor and driver; caretaker; trolleybus driver; trade union official; air raid warden; local councillor; JP and finally, author! It's all a little too good to be true, despite the indisputable hardship he endures much of the time.

There is plenty of pluck, but not much that's really dramatic or enthralling, unless you are interested in Australian social history of the period and especially how settlers established farms in the bush and how the government encouraged them etc.

The worst of it is the plodding way it is written: short simple sentences with plain words, so it's like an extended version of an early-reading primer: We did X. It was difficult. Then we did Y and were told we did it well. It was hard work, but we liked it and at least the food was good. I paraphrase, but only a little. Obviously it's a reflection of his lack of education, but I still found it irritating.

It's mostly very stilted and detached. There is little insight, imagination, description or anything to really engage the reader. He comments at one point on Mrs Stafford "seemed to understand people's feelings", but I'm not so sure he himself did.

Bert Facey was an admirable chap, but not a good writer - hardly surprising given his illiteracy till he taught himself to read. Yet this is the epitome of classic Australian writing, according to Aussie friends and colleagues: content, not style, I guess.

[Emmkay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really delightful. I understand it is something of a classic in Australia, but it was totally new to me as a Canadian. Albert Facey was born in 1894 and had a heck of a childhood, essentially abandoned by his mother after his father's death, the 7 children dispersed and never to be fully reunited. At one point he and some of his siblings and his grandmother were left to camp and rely on handouts. He was unable to go to school and only began to learn to read at a later age, instead working from the age of 10, often under very poor conditions. Later, he worked various manual jobs as a young man before joining up in the First World War and fighting at Gallipoli.

In his 80s, the life story Facey began in exercise books at the kitchen table was published, and he enjoyed 9 months of acclaim before he passed away. It's a wonderful story, told simply and engagingly, full of interesting facts and perspectives and a charming openness to experience. It made me think about the settlers' relationship with the land and with the indigenous people - so much building, burning, damming, herding, digging, battling with rabbits (did you know Australia built a coast-to-coast 'rabbit proof fence' with boundary riders employed to patrol and repair it?) - might there have been a different relationship they could have built with the land? And young Albert was very afraid when he first encountered indigenous people, misguidedly so. Also interesting to think about how notions of childhood have changed over time. I kept reading bits of it out loud at home, asking 'did you know?' or saying 'listen to this!'.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Australia this is a famous autobiography and I remember first reading it in high school and when I was done I was glad it had been on the reading list. It opened my eyes to how hard life had been for earlier generations in Australia.

Albert Facey was the type of man I remember among my older rural relatives from when I was young: Resilient, a real handyman with only basic tools, never complains and always finish what they start. However, Facey's life was one of extremes from the early land clearings in Western Australia (you can see today they did *too* good a job there)to the Victorian gold fields and to Gallipoli and one the worst battles of World War 1. (a defeat that is still celebrated as a victory in many respects in Australia even today)

The language is simple in this book. It was written as he told the stories to his family. Facey tought himself to read and write in adulthood and he was primarily an oral story teller and this is reflected in the prose. However, this is an uplifting story of an ordinary man's remarkable life and reccomended if you want some history about Australia that is both entertaining and informative.

[Steven Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Albert Facey, was born at the end of the 19 Century. Sent from his family to work at 8 years old and subjected to virtual slavery. He took part in the Gallipoli landings, returning with serious injuries. Raised a family in the Great Depression. Lost a son in WW2. Married to same women for 60 year's. Penned a bestseller and won New South Wales Premier's Literary Award for non-fiction and the National Book Council Prize. 
Albert Facey is a national treasure.
Tough times make tough men.

[Dominic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how much I like this book. It is not what I would typically read: an Australian biography of an "ordinary" man, but his simple, humble writing really captivated me. He leads an amazing life filled with problems (wars, poverty, abuse, the depression) yet always seem to find the bright side and come out of it okay. An engaging read and quite the history lesson.

[Rosie Carbery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing! Definitely an Australian classic, can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it before. Interesting to learn about WA in the early 20th century, but what makes this book special is Bert’s ability to endure everything that came his way. Loved reading this story

[Missy J · Rating 4 out of 5]

My GR friend Caroline recommended this book to me while I was reading The Secret River several years ago. She thought that I would like A Fortunate Life and explained that it was considered a classic in Australia. I tried to look for this book in the library, but they didn't have it. Several years went by. Then right before the coronavirus lockdown happened, I found the young reader's edition of this book, which I believe is slightly different from the original book? It contains a lovely introduction by the author's grandson And I was in the mood of an uplifting story about life and so I picked up the edition that was available to me.

Albert B. Facey wrote this book for his family. His children, grandchildren and wife would always tease him for repeating the same life stories over and over again. They told him to just put those stories into writing, which he finally did. He was born into a very poor family in Victoria (Australia). His father died when he was only two years old. His family then migrated to Western Australia, where they had to start from scratch. He was sent to work when he was only eight years old. His work experiences as a child were horrific - being beaten by strangers, living far away from home, not getting paid.

I don't want to reveal his entire life story, but this book very much focuses on Albert's early life up until 21 years old. Maybe our earliest memories stick deeper into our brains than what happens later in life. Maybe those early experiences shape us so much that we think about them daily for the rest of our lives. Albert chronicles all the different work experiences he had and his horrific experience in World War I fighting in the Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey. This was a very sad chapter, and I don't know how he managed to deal with the post-traumatic stress disorder after the war; thinking about those who died and those that he had killed. War is so senseless. But he still considers his life a fortunate one - mainly, because of his wife. Now during the times of coronavirus, I would also say he was lucky that he survived the Battle of Gallipolli and was sent back to Australia wounded before the Spanish flu. Very fortunate.

I enjoyed his stories about the outback the most, when he was around 13 years old and travelling as support for a gang that was collecting cattle from one side of the territory and herding them to the other side. He got lost and how he managed to survive was a truly remarkable story. I also couldn't help noticing how different life was back then. The government was encouraging settlers to move to the West to help get the place up and going. He had the government on his side and that was helpful to establish himself and his family. Whenever I read this story, I always kept the Aborigines in mind and how simultaneously their lives were drastically changed and their land just taken by the government. Maybe this sounds like a social justice warrior, but I can't help thinking that some people are just lucky to have been born in a position where the government approves of you, while others are simply born and despised by the government for not being what they want them to be. It’s terrible.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The Young Reader's edition isn't too long and the writing wasn't bad. For somebody who never went to school and had to catch up with reading and writing in sporadic episodes, it is a well written book. Albert passed away nine months after this book was published, probably because his wife had also passed away. Life is a gift for sure.

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This moving memoir, in plain, early 20th century Australian vernacular, was written by a man who was illiterate until his late teens, published when the author was in his eighties, and instantly acclaimed, bringing him national fame in the very last months of his life. It covers in detail an almost Dickensian childhood of poverty and enslavement across southern and western Australia from around the turn of the 20th century. Abandoned in infancy by his widowed mother to his grandmother, young Bert was before the age of eight sent away from home to work in order to relieve the family of the expense of keeping him. His having been instilled with integrity and determination by the grandmother he remained devoted to until her death at 100, Bert's wits and character carried him through many amazing adventures and abuses around post-colonial Western Australia, in which he learned all there is to know about horseriding, shooting, sheep- and pig-rearing, wheat farming, housebuilding and bushcraft, until WW1, whereupon, as a strapping six-footer and amateur sideshow boxing champion, he enlisted and was landed at Gallipoli, which he survived for many weeks until, severely injured, he was sent home, his destiny forever changed.

Some stories, such as of his getting lost in his teens on a six-month cattle-drive and being rescued by 'wild blacks', or of the meeting of his future wife, or of being stockwhipped to the threshhold of mortality by a ruthless employer as a child, or of what it's like to bayonet a man to death, stay with you for a long time. Frequently — notwithstanding the bone-plain prose and dogged dialogue — the reader will be moved to tears. This is a profound account of Australian life that illustrates aspects of the genesis of what was our national character, which with the cosseting effect of our subsequent material wealth (forged by ancestors just such as Bert Facey) has eroded into an effete, self-interested petulance, exemplified at its cheating worst today in our sledging 'sporting heroes' and the venality of our politicians. In that light you can't fail to love and admire this honourable, ordinary man thrown into a succession of extraordinary experiences to arrive with dignity intact at a place in the nation's history.

He's not a natural writer: there are, particularly later in the story, significant gaps in his responses to the events he was thrown into. Expect no sexual thread: he was a man of his time. Strongest are the accounts of his childhood, where, with a memory for detail so miraculous it makes you wonder whether illiteracy may somehow have been an advantage, he pulls no punches in his internal processes, sharing his solitude with a frank simplicity that touches you deeply, and a humility reflected in the story's ingenuous title. From Chapter 3 you don't want to let this book go.

I congratulate whichever publisher somehow overcame the usually insurmountable affectation for over-conscious writerliness, and persevered long enough to become honestly engaged by this remarkable story. Thoroughly recommended.

[Grace Sunflower · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly riveting story of survival of a poor, abandoned, motherless child who is left to fend for himself. An epic tale of adventure with a reluctant, humble, intelligent and likeable hero who survives exploitation and harsh-treatment equating to child abuse, then escapes and eventually embarks on an epic wild cross-country droving adventure where he gets lost in the bush is rescued by a local tribe....In an era before occupational health and safety standards were established he falls down a hazardous well and and miraculously escapes. Then becomes a boxing hero.... His entire childhood and adolescence was filled with the adventures that so many young boys probably long for. Paradoxically his heart ached for stability and a loving home. When he was denied a chance at being adopted to a loving couple, I could not help feeling horrified at his biological mother's callousness. And then subsequently saddened by the cruel reaction of the almost-parents when the adoption was off. After all this he travels to and survives horrific Gallipoli. Wounded, he then has a large loving family of his own, suffers in the Great Depression and then suffers more tragedy through drought and when he looses sons in the war. In so many ways this man is a wonderful role model for young men today. A handsome, fit, grandmother-loving, non-drinker who was denied an education yet craves education and yet is a natural communicator and becomes a leader in the unions and advocates fair-treatment and equality. He was a staunch Labour party supporter. At a time when race relations were uneasy he naturally developed respectful relations with indigenous Australians. This story is filled with humanity and heart-ache. Would have been nice to hear more about his courtship with his beloved Evelyn Gibson, who serendipitously knitted his parcel of socks when he was in the trenches.

[Urszula · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for our Book Club this month. I am glad I read it, but there is no way I would ever pick it up again

A.B.Facey had a very hard life. From very young age he had to face things that we even as adults would have very hard time to deal with. But he had an amazing, yet very simple and dry outlook on life. I apprieciated his struggle and the end result.

But I did not like the way this book was written at all. It was very dry and non-emotional. It read like a bullet point more than a story. I did not relate to him or anyone else that came and went in his life.

I was looking forward to reading about his experience in WWI. I've read many books on this topic and all of them touched my heart and my soul. Yet this book left me cold and totally detached from the nightmare of WW1.

About 2/3 through I was already thinking about the next book I am going to read. And that is always not a very good sign.

[Sulie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the BEST books I have EVER read in my LIFE... I thoroughly recommend reading this novel!!.. It completely changed my perspective on life... truly TRULY well worth the read.. Tells the true story of the life of Albert. B. Facey.. (who will forever be in my heart and mind).. It paints a picture of Australia, from the 1900's, at the turn of the century, (when he was born), and further on throughout his life, and details the struggles he faced from a very very young age.. (and there were many).. It gives you an insight and understanding of what it was like for many at this time in Australia.. and the many experiences he went through.. I am so glad he wrote this book.. will be forever grateful to him for sharing his life.. Give it a go... You will NOT be disappointed!!

[Tallsharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old boyfriend, when I lived in Sydney, told me that if I wanted to really understand the Australian culture, I should read this.

Of course, I was much to busy living to pick up a book that I assumed was boring and "historical".

When I was forced to leave the country (visa expiration), I actually bought the book at the Sydney Airport, and started to read it on my way to Hong Kong on the plane, after I dried the tears from my departure and goodbyes.

I finished the entire thing within a few days because I found it enthralling and inspiring, and it made me love the bloody Aussies all the more!

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness! Truly one of the BEST books I have ever read. What a crazy, sad, happy, unfortunate, lonely, blessed, wonderful, adventurous, FORTUNATE life this amazing man had. There were many occasions when I smiled, cringed, cried and laughed in this book. It is truly such a beautiful book/ recount of this man's life. I cannot begin to express how much I simply adored it. I would recommend this book to anyone, Australian or not, it is truly a masterpiece and really makes you think about life. What an excellent book to end the year on!

[Paul Gaya Ochieng Simeon Juma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been mulling over writing a review for this gem. When I bought it I knew I was going to hate it. Fortunately, that did not happen. I greatly enjoyed this book. I kept thinking to myself what would I have done if I was Facey with all the ups and downs in life. Would I have survived and ended up being successful as him and later write about how fortunate my life was? Am a different beast altogether and things might have been very different in my world. It takes a man of a certain courage and bravery to live and overcome the kind of life Mr. Facey went tbrough.

[Thomas Leek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow! I am a mess of emotions at the moment.
Real Rating: 4 STARS
Albert Facey is a true hero, one who even throughout the hardships of life believes that his life is fortunate.
For some reason I was going to DNF this book. WHY? There was a slump in the middle, but as soon as he goes to war everything picks up and just keeps going.
If you want a good biography - even if you aren't Australian - I recommend this to you.

[Sally Edgerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it - felt like I'd lost my best friend when I fineshed it.