Barbara Miller Books Newsletter May 2024 


As always, it’s such a pleasure to connect with you through our monthly newsletter.

 First, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for being a part of our community. Your support means the world to me, and it’s what keeps me inspired to delve deeper into the realms of Australian Aboriginal history, the Holocaust, and beyond.

What books have you been reading lately? What do you prefer, novels, nonfiction, newspapers, magazines or journals? I must admit, I’m addicted to newspapers and still like the feel of paper in my hands. When I want a quick read of a book and can’t wait for it to be posted, I select an eBook from amazon. What about you? What topics are like a magnet for you?

Have You Read These Lesser-Known Australian Tales?

I wanted to take a moment to reconnect and share some hidden gems from my collection of books that delve into the rich tapestry of Australian history, particularly focusing on Indigenous affairs.

Many of you know my passion for bringing these stories to life. But with 12 books under my belt, it can be hard to know where to start!

This month, I want to highlight a few lesser-known titles that might pique your interest:

Voice Treaty Truth: Has the Christian Voice Been Heard?

Even though this was a hot topic prior to the referendum late last year, it is a continuing issue with South Australia having set up its own voice and other state governments continuing with treaty and truth telling. While the Christian view is covered in this book, it also covers the main arguments of supporters and opponents of the Voice.

This book explores key issues. What is happening in Australian race relations is a mirror of what is happening in the Western world. Australia is currently divided 60/40 over a recent referendum to enshrine an Indigenous representative body in the constitution which would be a Voice to parliament and the executive government. There was pushback about creating a race-based body in the constitution and the inequality of having two classes of citizens. This is likely to continue with division over the need for a treaty and debating about the truth of Australia’s history. This book, Voice Treaty Truth, examines both sides of the argument in a passionate and balanced way and looks at the issues from political, historical, and spiritual viewpoints.

In this book, Barbara Miller, a pastor, sociologist, and historian, offers an insightful Christian response to the Uluru Statement From the Heart. She shares her 50 years of experience as an activist and researcher in First Nations affairs to help readers understand this debate which is potentially nation-changing.

If I Survive – Interview with Holocaust Survivor Lena Goldstein
by Author Barbara Miller

See https://barbara-miller-books.com/ for her full story in the book “If I Survive: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 100-Year Old Lena Goldstein’s Miracle Story.” Lena passed away in her sleep Tuesday night, 14 May 2019. The timing was not lost on me – the anniversary of the rebirth of the state of Israel. This video was uploaded overnight 13 May 2024 in her honour.

For better sound, see this video in my instagram account and subscribe https://www.instagram.com/barbaramiller8917/

Unveiling the Stories That Shaped Australia, Myself and Maybe You

In Secrets and Lies: the Shocking Truth of Recent Australian Aboriginal History, A Memoir, I weave together memoir and historical research to tell the story of First Nations Australians. It is not a story of the past but current events and recent history.

Barbara Russell, a young woman from a white working-class family. A ruthless Premier Bjelke-Petersen enforcing legal discrimination. What secrets lie hidden? What lies are being told?

Barbara couldn’t stand by and watch the feud of the people with governments and miners strip Australian Aboriginal communities of all they held dear. Not if she could help.

Would her passion make a way for her? Was she strong enough to make a difference for the people, resist the temptation of love, and stand up to her family too?

In this story of secrets, lies, ideological conflict and racial discrimination laws, Barbara teams up with Mick, an Aboriginal schoolteacher. They organise remote Australian Aboriginal people to fight Bjelke and the mining companies that encroach on their land. But Bjelke has a few tricks up his sleeve and will use all in his powers in this police state to stop them. If the Aboriginal people fail, more of them will die in poverty and desperation.

Can the church take on the state and win in this epic battle as the church stands with the Aboriginals to challenge racism? This historical memoir is another sizzling story in the First Nations True Stories series.

With the current debate in Australia of Voice Treaty Truth and the worldwide issue of Black Lives Matter, this book gives many key Aboriginal people a voice and reveals the shocking truth of the hidden history of 1975 to 2021 in a near-novel like manner. Every important historical event is covered. This is one of the social justice books that you will want on your shelf. The political activism examples are not those of keyboard warriors but those of a people who took to the trenches.

If you like fast-paced action, real-life heroes, and the window opened on another culture, this book is for you. If you like books with political intrigue that bring to life an interesting historical period, you’ll love Secrets and Lies.
These books offer unique perspectives and I truly believe they’ll resonate with anyone fascinated by Australia’s past.

 Looking for something different? Don’t forget I also delve into topics like the Holocaust and Christian themes in some of my other works.

Browse my full collection at 
https://barbara-miller-books.com/latest-books/

 Click on the titles above to learn more about these books, or visit my website to discover your next captivating read!
 
Happy reading
,

Have You Always Dreamed of Being a Published Author? – The Successful Author Kit is for You.

Bestselling author Barbara Miller has produced the following guides to help you on your way to fulfilling your dream. It is called the Successful Author Kit. She knows what it takes to have a successful writing career. You can get the following guides in the kit:

  • Guide to Choosing Your Niche
  • Guide to Finding Your Book Topic and Title
  • Guide to Structuring Your Non-Fiction Book, and as a bonus
  • List of Resources for Authors

If you would like more information, check it out HERE 

My books can be found at the Munganbana Reef and Rainforest Aboriginal Art Gallery at 33 Lake St Cairns, at Cairns Books bookshop at Cairns Central Shopping Centre, on Amazon, and on my website – www.barbara-miller-books.com.

Happy reading!!

Barbara Miller Books Newsletter April 2024 


With all the bad news the last few months, I hope you have some light reading you can do occasionally. Or even some books to read that are stimulating and intriguing and take you on an interesting journey.


These are my two memoirs which are really histories as well and how I came to be part of the story. Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth of Recent Australian Aboriginal HIstory, A Memoir is my second memoir. This is one interesting review:

This passionate and deeply researched book shines a light on what Aboriginal really means. The author’s unique style of gonzo journalism is fascinating, and illustrates the power of on-the-ground reporting. Despite it being a work of history, this story feels incredibly timely, given the ongoing political battles for First Nation rights in other parts of the globe. All told, Secrets and Lies is an eye-opening and fearless reflection on a vital topic.

Self-Publishing Review

White Woman Black Heart: Journey Home to Old Mapoon, A Memoir. See one of many reviews:
This is a highly engaging and inspiring memoir. At its centre is the story of Mapoon which has all the elements of a great drama with the violent expulsion of the community in 1963 and their triumphant return eleven years later. As the author explains she came almost by chance to be at the very centre of the drama which in turn dramatically changed her life. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in political and social change over the last 50 years.

Professor Henry Reynolds,FAHA FASSA University of Tasmania, eminent historian and award-winning author

For more information see 

Secrets and Lies book trailer

BOOK OF THE MONTH FEATURE


Picking up a new book and losing yourself between its pages for the afternoon — or into the early hours of the morning — is one of life’s simplest pleasures. And 2024 is already shaping up to be a brilliant year for books. Let’s have a look at refinery29.com’s list of the 27 Best New Books of 2024.



William Cooper Gentle Warrior: Standing Up for Australian Aborigines and Persecuted Jews is the first book by Barbara Miller on William Cooper and tells his amazing story and that of the Australian Aborigines’ League as they work for the uplift of their people and stand up for Jews at Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust when Aborigines were not citizens in their own nation. The two books pictured here are updates on that book, one focusing on his contribution to Aboriginal causes and the other on his support for Jewish people.

FIND THESE WILLIAM COOPER BOOKS WHCH GO TOGETHER-  HERE

Launch of Dying Days of Segregation book launch at Yarrabah Aboriginal community

Have You Always Dreamed of Being a Published Author? – The Successful Author Kit is for You.

Bestselling author Barbara Miller has produced the following guides to help you on your way to fulfilling your dream. It is called the Successful Author Kit. She knows what it takes to have a successful writing career. You can get the following guides in the kit:

  • Guide to Choosing Your Niche
  • Guide to Finding Your Book Topic and Title
  • Guide to Structuring Your Non-Fiction Book, and as a bonus
  • List of Resources for Authors

If you would like more information, check it out HERE  

My books can be found at the Munganbana Reef and Rainforest Aboriginal Art Gallery at 33 Lake St Cairns, at Cairns Books bookshop at Cairns Central Shopping Centre, on Amazon, and here on my website.

Happy reading!!



Left – Who were the first Europeans to set foot on Australian soil and where did it happen? Find out in “The European Quest to Find Terra Australis Incognita: Quiros, Torres and Janszoon.” Check it out here.

Right – Available as an audio book – a first-hand account of the Holocaust from a Polish Jewish woman who faced death daily in “If I Survive.” Find out more here. Happy reading!!