Greta Thumberg and her family - a journey

This narrative from Greta Thumberg’s mother explains their family journey and how they got to where we are now with Greta inspiring the world to wake up to the climate crisis -an extraordinary story

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Really worth listening

There's still so much to learn about the struggles of the world we live in, both for the planet as well for the individuals in it. All is connected and this book sheds a light in all this.

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a phenomenal family like no other

This book is a ragged assembly of short pieces written apparently by Greta Thunberg, her sister Beata, her mother Malena and father Svante, although (partly because it's on audio, not a printed book) it's far from clear who wrote what as the structure is so haphazard. Another problem with it is the narration. I presume Mya Lindh is Swedish and I'm afraid that even though her voice is pleasant, there is no nuance and no variation of expression which makes listening for over 7 hours tedious. I persevered with it because I wanted to understand the extraordinary phenomenon which is GretaThunberg, the 17 year-old with a history of severe mental conditions (Aspergers, autism, eating disorders, mutism...) who has had world leaders greeting her, and massive crowds of mainly very young girls listening to her like some re-enactment of the Children's Crusade. The book certainly does provide that background.

And what a background! The hell the family went through since the children's births with two seriously affected non-conformist daughters (Greta refused to eat for months on end; Beata had titanic rages and hurled abuse and objects at her understandably end-of-her-tether mother). Malena (an opera singer with her own enormous talents and mental issues going back to childhood) and her husband have been brought close to mental and physical total burn-out and collapse as they have fought for their girls.

Listening to this tells us exactly how the obsessions with a single topic typical of autism saved the life of this fearfully troubled child and her family. Literally. Greta's unshakable belief in her message is manna to her audience of particularly young children whose anxiety about the planet has been massively increased by social media. As Malena tells us, depression and anxiety amongst children has rocketed. Climate change and its off-shoots of destruction of our planet are reported again and again throughout this book - (the whole needed tighter editing). But the statistics provided are truly fearful, deeply distressing and Greta's blame-laying and assertions are wholly justified. I do wonder where the family goes from here.

This is a book that should be heard, but don't expect to enjoy it!

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1 person found this helpful

A shock to the system that's worth getting.

This book breaks your heart, opens your mind, enthuses you and deflates you in equal measure. Some parts are a bit vague and some are heavy hitting. All of it necessary and touching. It has great humanity and I am privileged to have read it. Thank you to the family for sharing their story.

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