Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray was authored by Anita Heiss and published in 2021. It's current location is Alexa Borrowed.
The powerful Murrumbidgee River surges through town leaving death and destruction in its wake. It is a stark reminder that while the river can give life, it can just as easily take it away.
Wagadhaany is one of the lucky ones. She survives. But is her life now better than the fate she escaped? Forced to move away from her miyagan, she walks through each day with no trace of dance in her step, her broken heart forever calling her back home to Gundagai.
When she meets Wiradyuri stockman Yindyamarra, Wagadhaany’s heart slowly begins to heal. But still, she dreams of a better life, away from the degradation of being owned. She longs to set out along the river of her ancestors, in search of lost family and country. Can she find the courage to defy the White man’s law? And if she does, will it bring hope ... or heartache?
Set on timeless Wiradyuri country, where the life-giving waters of the rivers can make or break dreams, and based on devastating true events, Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (River of Dreams) is an epic story of love, loss and belonging.
A really great book that kept me interested the whole way through and positioned me to empathise with the characters and understand their thinking. I loved the inclusion of Wiradjuri language and the way it is integrated into the text means you don't even have to check the glossary to understand the words. One flaw is that characters like David Bradley are seemingly forgotten about by the end except for the occassional name drop.