A Far-Flung Life
M L Stedman
Reviewed by Helen
This story was WOW for me, beautifully written it tells the story of the McBride Family, a family who have lived for generations on a million acres of land in the red dirt of Western Australia raising sheep, it is 1958 and we meet Phil and Lorna and their three children Warren, Rose and Matt and what happens to them after a devastating accident shatters their lives
The McBride Station is close to the small town of Wanderrie Creek and while Phil is driving his two sons towards town firstly to drop young Matt of at a young pastoralists meeting a kangaroo will change their lives for evermore, those left behind will do all they can to ensure they continue on the McBride family way looking after the station the sheep and the other people who live there, but it is not easy for any of them.
During the years that follow that accident many things will happen and change will come to the station in the form of mining and this brings new people to the station, relationships are made, more friendships but will they ever come to anything and change the direction that they are moving in?
This story is told in three parts and starts in 1958 and continues on till 2000 and brings more sadness to the family, it is a story of secrets and how people react when things have been done that shouldn’t have been do they find reasons for this, open up about them or do they bury secrets deep never to be told? The characters are wonderful and so real and I felt for them all, the author has dug deep into these characters and bought them all to life.
This is a story of resilience, love, and family and one that I loved very much and do highly recommend to any reader who loves a family saga that digs deep into emotions and what makes families who they are, a must read.
My thanks to Penguin AU for my ARC to read and review.
The McBride Station is close to the small town of Wanderrie Creek and while Phil is driving his two sons towards town firstly to drop young Matt of at a young pastoralists meeting a kangaroo will change their lives for evermore, those left behind will do all they can to ensure they continue on the McBride family way looking after the station the sheep and the other people who live there, but it is not easy for any of them.
During the years that follow that accident many things will happen and change will come to the station in the form of mining and this brings new people to the station, relationships are made, more friendships but will they ever come to anything and change the direction that they are moving in?
This story is told in three parts and starts in 1958 and continues on till 2000 and brings more sadness to the family, it is a story of secrets and how people react when things have been done that shouldn’t have been do they find reasons for this, open up about them or do they bury secrets deep never to be told? The characters are wonderful and so real and I felt for them all, the author has dug deep into these characters and bought them all to life.
This is a story of resilience, love, and family and one that I loved very much and do highly recommend to any reader who loves a family saga that digs deep into emotions and what makes families who they are, a must read.
My thanks to Penguin AU for my ARC to read and review.
5 stars
March 3, 2026 by Penguin
