Mourning And Resilience In Indian Ocean Life Writing

This volume examines a selection of life writing in English by authors from the South West Indian Ocean, namely South Africa, East Africa, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. The two motifs that run through the chapters – mourning and resilience – are theoretical frameworks that have so far not been brought into conversation in this way. The combination of trauma studies and autobiographical analysis sharpens the focus of the discussions on Indian Ocean life writing, privileging an Indian Ocean imaginary that is transnational and cross-oceanic in its orientation and pointing to networks of connections that transcend the nation state, which is often the origin of trauma in the first place. Filling a gap in Indian Ocean studies in its close readings of trauma and resilience, the book also broadens perspectives on postcolonial life writing since little attention has been paid so far to Indian Ocean autobiographical literary products. By the same token, the volume also enriches the field of Indian Ocean literary studies by incorporating life writing as an aesthetic strategy which helps to configure Indian Ocean subjectivities.

"Solitude is terrifying and awe-inspiring in Alone." —The Wall Street Journal In April 2013, fifty-year-old Brett Archibald was on board a surf-charter boat, making a night-time crossing of the remote Mentawai Strait off Sumatra, Indonesia. In the middle of a storm, ill with severe food poisoning, he blacked out. When he came to, he found himself in the raging sea, sixty miles from shore. As Brett saw the lights of his boat disappearing into the darkness, it became clear that no one had seen him fall, and that no one would hear his shouts for help. He was alone in the ocean. It would be eight hours before his friends realized he was missing. At that point a frantic search began for a single man somewhere in thousands of square miles of heaving waves. The rough weather meant that no planes or helicopters could assist in the search. According to the experts, he should have died within ten to fourteen hours. Instead, Brett battled Portuguese man o' war and jellyfish, sharks, seagulls, and the stormy seas for more than 28 hours. Alone is the remarkable tale of his miraculous survival and rescue. It is also the story of what it takes to defy extraordinary odds and the incredible power of the human spirit.

This volume examines innovative intersections of life-writing and experimental fiction in the 20th and 21st centuries, bringing together scholars and practicing biographers from several disciplines (Modern Languages, English and Comparative Literature, Creative Writing). It covers a broad range of biographical, autobiographical, and hybrid practices in a variety of national literatures, among them many recent works: texts that test the ground between fact and fiction, that are marked by impressionist, self-reflexive and intermedial methods, by their recourse to myth, folklore, poetry, or drama as they tell a historical character’s story. Between them, the essays shed light on the broad range of auto/biographical experimentation in modern Europe and will appeal to readers with an interest in the history and politics of form in life-writing: in the ways in which departures from traditional generic paradigms are intricately linked with specific views of subjectivity, with questions of personal, communal, and national identity. The Introduction of this book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via link.springer.com.

Some of the most exciting and innovative legal scholarship has been driven by historical curiosity. Legal history today comes in a fascinating array of shapes and sizes, from microhistory to global intellectual history. Legal history has expanded beyond traditional parochial boundaries to become increasingly international and comparative in scope and orientation. Drawing on scholarship from around the world, and representing a variety of methodological approaches, areas of expertise, and research agendas, this timely compendium takes stock of legal history and methodology and reflects on the various modes of the historical analysis of law, past, present, and future. Part I explores the relationship between legal history and other disciplinary perspectives including economic, philosophical, comparative, literary, and rhetorical analysis of law. Part II considers various approaches to legal history, including legal history as doctrinal, intellectual, or social history. Part III focuses on the interrelation between legal history and jurisprudence by investigating the role and conception of historical inquiry in various models, schools, and movements of legal thought. Part IV traces the place and pursuit of historical analysis in various legal systems and traditions across time, cultures, and space. Finally, Part V narrows the Handbooks focus to explore several examples of legal history in action, including its use in various legal doctrinal contexts.

How can we understand gender in the contemporary world? What psychological differences now exist between women and men? How are masculinities and femininities made? And what is the relationship between gender issues and globalizing concerns such as environmental change and economic restructuring? Raewyn Connell, one of the world's leading scholars in the field, is here joined by Rebecca Pearse as they answer these questions and more. Their book provides a readable introduction to modern gender studies, covering empirical research from all parts of the world in addition to theory and politics. As well as introducing the field, Gender provides a powerful contemporary framework for gender analysis with a strong and distinctive global awareness. Highlighting the multi-dimensional character of gender relations, the authors show how to link personal life with large-scale organizational structures and how gender politics changes its form in changing situations. The third edition of this influential and accessible book includes a whole new chapter on ecofeminism, environmental justice and sustainability. It also brings the review of research up to date throughout and explains new debates and emerging gender theories. Gender is engaged scholarship that moves from personal experience to global problems and offers a unique perspective on gender issues today.

A brave, intimate, beautifully crafted memoir by a survivor of the tsunami that struck the Sri Lankan coast in 2004 and took her entire family. On December 26, Boxing Day, Sonali Deraniyagala, her English husband, her parents, her two young sons, and a close friend were ending Christmas vacation at the seaside resort of Yala on the south coast of Sri Lanka when a wave suddenly overtook them. She was only to learn later that this was a tsunami that devastated coastlines through Southeast Asia. When the water began to encroach closer to their hotel, they began to run, but in an instant, water engulfed them, Sonali was separated from her family, and all was lost. Sonali Deraniyagala has written an extraordinarily honest, utterly engrossing account of the surreal tragedy of a devastating event that all at once ended her life as she knew it and her journey since in search of understanding and redemption. It is also a remarkable portrait of a young family's life and what came before, with all the small moments and larger dreams that suddenly and irrevocably ended.

Living Through Loss is the first book to identify the many ways in which people experience loss over the course of life and to discuss the interventions most effective at each stage of life. The authors' starting point is that loss comes in many forms and can include not only suffering the death of a person one loves but also giving birth to a child with disabilities, living with chronic illness, or being abused, assaulted, or otherwise traumatized. They approach loss from the perspective of the resilience model, which acknowledges the capacity of people to integrate loss into their lives, and write sensitively about the role of age, race, culture, sexual orientation, gender, and spirituality in a person's response to loss. More than a comprehensive source on loss, the volume is distinguished by the authors' beautiful use of clients' experiences-and their own-thus making their book definitive and indelible.

On Angels Wings is a true story about the bombing of the Air India AI-182 Kanishka aircraft. The first part of a trilogy on this subject, it is an inspirational autobiography and details the search and rescue, the criminal law trial, failed court cases, and a son's fight for justice for 38 years, who was orphaned at 17 years. The Air India 182 Kanishka bombing off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985, was the worst act of aviation terror until the 9/11 attacks. A true airplane crash story, It is the worst airline bombing, killing 331 people, including 86 children. A motivational story of a young man’s resilience, grit, and determination to succeed against all odds, it chronicles Sanjay Lazar's incredible journey from despair to hope, and how he overcame adversity to emerge as a successful aviator & lawyer. A true tale of leadership, of a boy who conquered death, a tale of human triumph over tragedy, to succeed against all odds, blessed by his own angels. It recounts his decades-long fight for justice, the period of his participation in the Kanishka criminal trial in Vancouver for the Air India bombings, and later fighting for individual standing before the Justice John Major Inquiry Commission, headed by the retired Judge. He joined Air India and excelled there, becoming a merit award winning crew member, and rose to become a part of the elite VVIP Fleet of Air India One, flying the President and Prime Ministers of India, where he served for more than 12 years.The Book details his trysts with destiny and his idols, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, JRD Tata and Balasaheb Thackeray Ji. He became the youngest Trade Union leader of the national trade union AICCA and was its general secretary for more than 25 years and handled issues such as the privatisation of India, worker rights, and numerous court cases on fundamental rights before the High Court and Supreme Court of India. Book Extract : That night, around 2:30 a.m., we were abruptly awakened by blaring sirens and announcements on the hotel’s PA system, urging immediate evacuation. “This is an evacuation warning.” “This is not a drill.” “Please evacuate the hotel immediately.” “We made our way through the corridor, down the fire escape, and into the open car parking space facing Bath Road. I could see hundreds of people around me, who had also just evacuated the hotel, some running out in their nightgowns and some naked, as the splitting sound of the loud horn pulsated in my ears.” "On that damp, cold night in London, we all stood helpless in the middle of the night in the left and right car parking areas. After a brief period, we saw the bomb squads and London Police, come rushing in with the fire engines blaring.” “Few of us travelled to Canada and attended the trial. We were seated in an area barely 15 feet away from where Malik and Bagri sat during the trial, and for days, we sat there watching the killers of our families.” “I will never forget the expressions on the faces of those two criminals, smirking, knowing that they were responsible for the murder of my family and all 331 innocent souls on board that ill-fated Air India Flight 182. Throughout the trial, they sat with smirks on their faces, seemingly triumphant, while looking at the crowd and the families of the victims.” “My family just died again,” “They killed 331 people once more,” and “This was the gravest injustice inflicted upon the victims of the Air India bombing!” As CBC News reported, But Sanjay Lazar had no trouble summing up how they felt in one, biting sentence.” “Today, once again, 20 years on,” he said, “we have lost our families all over again—this time to the Canadian justice system." Reviews : "It shines a light on how justice was obstructed in the Kanishka Air India Bombing Case, the worst act of aviation terrorism globally, before 9/11. Years of hard work have gone into the writing of this book. A must-read book- BARKHA DUTT" "A moving read about courage and determination in the aftermath of the tragedy of the Kanishka bombing - VIR SANGHVI". "Now, at last, Sanjay is taking the time to lay out the whole story. He's "here as of right." He knows the law, he knows aviation, and he certainly knows about bereavement. And this time. He's not rushing from the airport at the very last minute.- TERRY MILEWSKI"