Workshop Testimonials and Book Reviews

Workshop Testimonials

  • "The workshop was informative, interesting, inspiring, helpful and it was easy to engage with Betty as the presenter. She was really impressive, knowledgeable and approachable."

    Writing NSW: feedback from workshops

  • "Very practical and good hints to proceed."

    Writing NSW: feedback from workshops

  • "Betty’s material was well arranged, well presented with time allowed for discussion. Key points were the triggers I required and hoped for. Betty inspires by knowledge and example."

    Writing NSW: feedback from workshops

  • "Betty is a wonderful teacher and her practical examples from her own work were excellent in demonstrating her points."

    Society of Australian Genealogy: feedback from workshops

  • "Just a massive thank you to Betty for her generosity in sharing her skills and expertise and inspiring us all to think about family history writing in different and exciting ways."

    Society of Australian Genealogy: feedback from workshops

  • "Betty is an amazing presenter, her credentials are obviously second to none, and the content was top notch. I loved the mix between straight presentation, break out groups and discussions and resources. I feel privileged to have been able to participate."

    Society of Australian Genealogy: feedback from workshops

  • "It got me excited and motivated again about a project I have been working on for years."

    Society of Australian Genealogy: feedback from workshops

What other authors are saying about

The Other Side of Absence

  • “A fascinating account of a quest for a vanished father that takes the author to Poland, wartime Europe and postwar Britain. Was he a scoundrel or a victim? Evidence comes in on both sides in a moving narrative that is also a page-turner as we wait eagerly for the author’s next discovery.”

    — Sheila Fitzpatrick

    Author of Mischka’s War. Professor Australian Catholic University/University of Sydney

  • “What happens when the past you didn’t even know existed catches up with you and resets your life on an entirely new course? O’Neill’s family memoir examines the devastating, intergenerational impact of trauma and secrets on children and other family members. Spanning several countries and two continents, it takes us from one revelation to another, building towards the riveting discovery of her father’s war-time identity. In drawing her chilling portrayal of the damaged man, O’Neill is capable of making a leap of empathy and understanding as she embraces her newly found legacy. The Other Side of Absence is a spellbinding read, an original contribution to migration history in Australia, and in particular the Polish diaspora during the Cold War period.”

    — Eva C. Karpinski

    Author of Borrowed Tongues: Life Writing, Migration, and Translation. Associate Professor in the School of Women's Studies at York University in Toronto.

  • "To create a work which is at once beautiful and terrible is indeed a mark of literary talent and Betty O’Neill achieves this to perfection with The Other Side of Absence."

    — Barbie Robinson

  • “I have rarely been so gripped by a family history as I have by this one. This is an extraordinary tale of what damage war and post-war trauma can wreak on multigenerational members of the same family moving from Poland to Australia and back again. No wonder Betty threw herself into family history research to try and answer the myriad questions left hanging by her father. We are left with a clear understanding of how important history is to individual identity and redemption.”

    — Tanya Evans

    Author of Fractured Families: Life on the Margins in Colonial New South Wales. Winner NSW Premier’s History Award, Associate Professor Director of the Centre for Applied History, Macquarie University, consultant for television series “Who Do You Think You Are?”

  • “A journey through time that explores layer upon layer of family mystery and tragic history – this is storytelling at its best.”

    — Bem Le Hunte

    Author of Elephants with Headlights. Associate Professor and Program Director Creative Intelligence and Innovation, University of Technology, Sydney

  • “A poignant and riveting story.”

    — Nadia Wheatley

    Author of 2019 NIB Award-Winning Memoir, Her Mother’s Daughter

Other Reviews

The prestigious Australian Book Review concludes:

An honest and emotional account of how families shape us even in their absence, O’Neill’s story will be a treat for those partial to family histories, and provides a timely reminder of how our personal circumstances are so profoundly shaped by global events.

Living Arts Canberra by Barbie Robinson

Denise Newton Writes

AJCollins Let’s Launch: Guest author interview

Online: Polish Weekly Review, 29 July 2020

Online: Starts at 60, Contribution

Print: The Daily Telegraph Review

Print: Australian Book Review by Iva Glisic

Online: Mrs B's Book Reviews