A rare glimpse into the life of a mid-20th century Australian Aboriginal woman is offered in this autobiographical account which reads like a novel. After being taken from her mother in infancy and raised in a Catholic mission, Glenyse Ward is hired out as a domestic servant to an upper-class white family when she is fifteen. Working for an employer who refers to her as "my dark slave," Ward successfully struggles to maintain dignity and an identity in harsh, humiliating circumstances. (Age 13 and older)