My River Sanctuary

By: Robin Bower

A Chinese Australian woman, Kim Chen, is a descendant of one of the first Chinese immigrants to come to Western Australia in the 1880s. On the river in Perth she continues her father’s legacy of having an urban farm. Kim struggles to keep her farm profitable. She enlists the help of Ara, an Afghan refugee awaiting release into the community. She faces opposition from her competitors, her neighbours, and eventually must fight to save her identity, her son and her land.

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Book Description

My River Sanctuary is the story of a Chinese Australian woman, Kim Chen, who is a descendant of one of the first Chinese immigrants who came to Western Australia in the 1880s. On the banks of the Swan River in Perth she continues her father's legacy of having a Chinese urban farm. She has a son, Ayden, born to her first love, Jack, the boy next door who has left her to work as a war photographer in Afghanistan. Kim struggles to keep her farm profitable and her son only wants to go kayaking on the Swan River. With the assistance of the Immigration Department, she enlists the help of Ara, an Afghan refugee awaiting release into the community.

Kim's dream is to develop a world garden, a garden that encompasses plants from the countries of all the migrants who have settled in Perth, and create a self-sustaining business from the produce. She faces opposition from her competitors, her neighbours, and eventually must fight to save her identity, her son and her land. Like the Swan River, the story flows through memory, loss ad a family struggling against the tide.

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