Jilya (Tracy Westerman, UQP)

Jilya means ‘my child’ in Nyamal language, and it is evident on every page of her hybrid memoir/cultural study that leading psychologist and Nyamal woman Tracy Westerman is committed to improving the prospects of First Nations kids in Australia. As she shows at length, insidious racism continues to measurably impact psychological health outcomes for First Nations peoples. Through grit and resilience, Westerman has gained a thorough knowledge of these ongoing issues, and she makes an impassioned case in Jilya for how mental health professionals—and society—should respond. She balances hope against the realities she’s faced throughout her decades-long career. However, it is her own origin story that persuades her—and this reader—the most convincingly of what is possible with the right environment. The chapters alternate between the personal and the accessibly academic, with commentary on scientific studies often couched in yarns and examples from Westerman’s own practice. This style reminded me of Tyson Yunkaporta’s broader-focused Sand Talk, which would be an excellent companion read to Jilya, especially for non-Indigenous readers. As a white Australian, I found Jilya educational, illuminating and contagiously hopeful. It is heartening to know that Westerman is doing such great work. I sincerely hope copies are distributed to mental health professionals and the Australian government on all levels.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Melissa Mantle is a bookseller with a master's degree in literature. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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