The Dressmaker's Daughter

I've read The Dressmaker's Daughter by Kate Llewellyn and found most of it a depressing read. It is a memoir of her life growing up with a loving family in country South Australia, then marriage to polio victim Richard Llewellyn, her battle with depression and her success as a poet. The early part of the book about her childhood is told in vignettes about different aspects and people with whom she was in contact and was quite good. She does nursing and then meets Richard as a patient, falls in love and marries. Following a family tragedy she sinks into depression and attempts suicide. Other life changes follow and she eventually becomes a successful published poet. Llewellyn uses excerpts from her old diaries to augment her melancholy tale. 3/5