When May’s mother dies suddenly, she and her brother Billy are taken in by Aunty. However, their loss leaves them both searching for their place in a world that doesn’t seem to want them. While Billy takes his own destructive path, May sets off to find her father and her Aboriginal identity. Her journey leads her from the Australian east coast to the far north, but it is the people she meets, not the destinations, that teach her what it is to belong. Swallow the Air is an unforgettable story of living in a torn world and finding the thread to help sew it back together.

(from Goodreads)

More reading

Author Tara June Winch’s website

Swallow the Air – A Reading Australia Information Trail:

Resources and links to online material to enhance readers’ encounters with the book. Part One examines the places in which the book is set or that have influenced Winch. Part Two examines history, identity and writing, and it includes links to resources about the Stolen Generations and the Indigenous leader Windradyne. Part Three details what happened next in Winch’s career, and it is followed by suggestions for further reading. Some of these critical works and other resources are available to read online.

“Overcoming the ‘Crisis of Nonrelation’ through Formal Innovation” – an academic discussion and analysis of Swallow the Air.