……Whatever Happened to Ishtar?

‘A Passionate Quest To Find Answers

For Generations Of Defeated Mothers’

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The author has woven favourite poems into chapters; each poem relevant and poignant

‘Whatever Happened to Ishtar?’ – A  Gift Suggestion?

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Lebanese Settlers Reunion Dunedin, NZ 2011

Photos: Catholic Churches, Schools & Orphanages

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My Book ‘Whatever Happened to Ishtar?’ is made up of two books:

In Book I, I trace my Lebanese family history back through the mists of time to various places in the Middle East, then to Bcharre, from  where my paternal grandparents Eva and Jacob Fahkrey (Coory) emigrate to Melbourne in 1897 and from there on to Dunedin, New Zealand. Kahlil Gibran came form the same village as Eva and Jacob and was related to them through marriage.

In Book II, I trace my mother’s Italian family back to such places as southern Italy, Sicily, Pistoia, Lucca, Pisa, Florence,  and northern Italy’s border with Switzerland.   I document my own mother’s descent in to  severe bipolar disorder and the way it impacted on the lives of her children.

More than anything else, Roman Catholic dogma binds together the Lebanese and Italian branches of my family tree. However, I believe that their adherence to this system of beliefs is one of the  fundamental reasons as to why so many of the women became defeated mothers.

The two separate branches of my family tree intertwine in New Zealand when my mother, Doreen Frandi, an ex-nun,  becomes pregnant to Phillip George Coory, son of Eva and Jacob, at the closing stages of the Second World War.  Phillip is already married with a young son.  What happens from then on begins an almost unbelievable  chapter of events in Dunedin and has ramifications for following generations of mothers.

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Song Of Ishtar

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Most of all, this book proves two things: Our lives can be pre-ordained by the tragedies of our ancestors’ lives, and a child’s spirit can survive the cruelest of beginnings, to take on the world.

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Second Edition copies of ‘WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ISHTAR?’ can be ordered via online booksellers NOW:  Amazon, The Nile NZ, Booktopia, & other selected book shops including university book shops in Australia and NZ.

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Alternatively, request a copy at your local library in New Zealand or Australia.

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When ordering it may help to quote one or other of the following:

ISBN-10: 1921642955     or      EAN-13: 9781921642951

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Back cover second edition – click on image to read synopsis

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BOOK REVIEWS, COMMENTS:

Note from my nephew, Dean Marshel Courté 1 May 2013

…

Hi Anne, lm sitting at a cafe in Sofia, Bulgaria, and thought l’d let you know that l just finished re reading properly, your book last weekend and like l’ve already mentioned to you, your work is outstanding. l have a complete picture now of yours and Tony’s and my dad’s lives in that difficult time. l just can’t believe how terrible your situation was and the way they treated you all. Just for your info, my adopted mother lived in Dunedin too and was a dress maker for your aunties; she remembers them very well.

Luv. Deano

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MOMOBOOKBLOG REVIEW    …  How much can a person endure, especially a little child. This heart-rendering account of Anne-Frandi Coory’s life is a proof that we can live through a lot of hardship and still turn out to be passionate and affectionate people, in this case a wonderful woman and mother of four children even though she was an abandoned and abused child herself.

The author goes back to the history of her Lebanese-Italian family and all the troubles her ancestors went through before reaching New Zealand… MORE…

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Rita Roberts

Rita Roberts, retired archeologist, Crete, and author of  ‘Toffee Apples & Togas’  -

‘Whatever Happened to Ishtar?‘  by  Anne Frandi-Coory  is a book I could not put down. It tells of Anne’s terrifying upbringing as a child and later on in life the long quest to trace her family. Written with such passion that once read one thinks of the old saying, ‘There for the grace of god go I’. This book I would recommend to all families,especially mothers, in fact, to everyone.

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       Rachael Dunphy Van Asch- facebook comment:

I am loving your book – I started reading it straight away… Isn’t it amazing that when you know someone, you don’t know what is really going on in their life? I always saw you as a fun loving mother of 4 busy kids, with the wonderful Paul by your side. I loved staying with you all. I loved your home and its romantic decoration, I loved your sense of warmth and your zest for life. When you went off to Uni, you inspired me to be a life long learner – its never too late! You are amazing and have had the most incredible journey to become and even more amazing grandmother and mature woman. I love you and will always hold you in such high esteem.

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Pete & Neralie Hannam NZ – facebook comment:

…But I didn’t get a chance to read it first, it’s been commandeered by Neralie, “it’s been powerfully written”.

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MOMO – International Book Group Online – Location: The Netherlands:

Whatever happened to Ishtar? by Anne Frandi-Coory, the biography of a woman from New Zealand with Lebanese-Italian parents. This book was recommended to me by a person in Australia. Not for the faint-hearted but very good.

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Dean Marshe-Courté

        Dean Marshe-Courté, Hungary  facebook comment:

Reading my Aunty’s [Anne Frandi-Coory] book; “Whatever Happened to Ishtar?” Its fab and very informative regarding the family history. Dad [Kevin Coory], its worth a read buddy. (-:

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Marion Groves’ Tweets:

30/08/2011 > Night girls, dying to get back to my book. Am reading “Whatever Happened to Ishtar” by @afcoory Highly recommend! @lunarchic @externallylaws

6/09/2011 > @PhilosophyQuotz @MarionGroves Your descendants shall gather your fruits. Virgil (ping @afcoory ) > Maybe I should have used this title for ‘Whatever Happened To Ishtar?’

6/09/2011 >No, your title is provocative & thought-provoking, as is your book. I was sorry when I had finished it. @afcoory

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Wendy O’Hanlon -   Click – A Cultural Connection:

ISHTAR, according to Phoenician legend, is the great mother goddess. But author Anne Frandi-Coory grew up without close contact with her mother. In this painful re-telling of her family history, the author explores how generations of her family have lived thwarted, sad and unfulfilled lives because of a cruel twist of fate and even crueller family behaviours.

The author grew up in an orphanage, ostracised by her Lebanese father’s family. She rarely saw her Italian mother who spent many years in asylums and endured horrific shock treatments. She has tried to trace her siblings and re-establish relationships – with and without success, with heart-rending surprises and tragedies.

The author is now living a fulfilled life but needed to face these demons of her family history to try to make sense of life and purpose. There is true courage in her words. Her childhood was very lonely. Hers is such a searing, heart-tearing story.

The author painstakingly documents the history of her family back through the generations of Italian and Lebanese faces and stories. What is ironic is that she uncovers the rich cultural history of these families and the fact that such wonderful traits and traditions were all but lost to modern generations as her family tree fractures again and again.

For the reader, there is much to learn about the history of these great cultures as Frandi-Coory meticulously delves into ancient stories and legends. There is also much to learn about the strength of the human spirit – that a life with purpose can be lived despite a crippling beginning.

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JOHN MORROW’S PICK OF THE WEEK

This is an autobiography cum family history from a strong woman who has overcome the odds to come out a successful and wonderfully strong person.

There are not many happy childhood memories when Anne recalls her earlier life in Dunedin.   Anne spent her formative years at the Orphanage for the Poor.  There she was indoctrinated into the world of the Roman Catholic religion. Prayers, bible study and chores were not the practical things that would prepare a damaged young girl for life out in the wide world.

Anne’s story is a revelation of cruelty and mind games which set her on a path of self-doubt.  It is little wonder that she has been on a life journey that has been harrowing, but ultimately, triumphant.

Anne’s story is painful and, at times, difficult to read.  However, she has my absolute admiration for rising above the adversity of her childhood to become the confident woman she is today.

Thanks Anne, for sharing your story.

………………..

Author Photograph:  Robb Duncan

Anne Frandi-Coory

BRIEF BIO OF AUTHOR:

Growing up in an orphanage, raised by strict Catholic nuns, abused by her father’s Lebanese family in Dunedin. This beginning did not prepare Anne Frandi-Coory well for the realities of life.  But she overcame the continual threat of hellfire and brimstone, escaping into marriage and children as a teenager, while trying to find out who she was.  Then followed divorce, and diverse short careers;  interior decorator, estate agent, joint owner of a café/caterer. Always looking for new challenges while becoming bored with the old, Anne then went to university and gained a degree in Sociology after which she worked for a short time as a child case worker in the NZ Dept of Social Welfare.  Not content with that, she travelled the world with her partner and daughter, and then wrote her first book ‘Whatever Happened To Ishtar? – A Passionate Quest To Find Answers For Generations Of Defeated Mothers’.   The book was the result of fifteen years of research, interviews, and note-taking, and is selling worldwide.

Bruce McKenzie – Artist

Thank you to Bruce McKenzie [aka Vincent, adopted out at birth by our mother, Doreen Frandi]  for designing the cover of my book.  He also sculptured the terracotta figurine of Ishtar and painted the background in oils.

A Press release about Bruce:

The logo on Bruce McKenzie’s T-Shirt, “Motocross Race Freak” sits comfortably with a shed crowded with engine parts and neatly arranged tools.

A silver Jaguar sits disembowelled on a bench. “It’s a series 3 Sovereign in Jaguar speak”, Bruce explained. “I’m rebuilding and refurbishing it for my driving car”. The former New Zealander has come to classic car restoration via motorbikes. “I ran a motorbike shop in Adelaide for 18 years in the late 1970s and until the 1990s made custom built Harleys and Triumphs”, he reminisced. “They were forerunners in their field. After the aluminium parts were cast, I’d hand finish them with a rasp, like a living sculpture.  I made a motor bike all in white and chrome and yes, it was easy to sell. We drag raced an ethanol fuelled Harley and found it had more “band” to produce short bursts of power.

“Then came a ‘tree change’ in the early 1990s and more relaxed life style. I went to Caldecotts as a mechanic for three or four years to help out, and have been there ever since.” Only half of the shed however is a mechanic’s workshop and to walk through the dividing door is to enter another world – that of the artist. Painting, canvases, a fishing net and buoys line the walls. Found objects jostle for attention and sketching pads, notebooks, brushes and paints are arranged along a bench wall of the studio.

A large oil painting dominates the space – clearly a work in progress – of a seascape and the round rocks found only in New Zealand. “I began painting something else”, Bruce confessed, “that wasn’t going well. Then the accidental happened. The oils and washes that stayed had formed a new image. I turned the canvas upside down and this seascape appeared.”  We need to leave our mark in life”, he said.  “Creativity is in everyone but we need to find a way to express it, whether it’s to make the perfect cake, knit the perfect jumper or paint the perfect portrait.”

The experienced and gifted artist has great empathy for a young generation finding its own way. “Road tags, for example, are really a form of graffiti – a signature if you like.  They’re part of growing up to maturity and can be seen as a form of creativity. You only have to look at what these young people can do with their art, to see that.”

-Keith correspondent Meredyth Cunningham. Border Chronicle 5 April 2007

My son Douglas with Bruce McKenzie & Bruce's daughter

DEDICATION

L to R: David Anthony Gina Douglas

My Book    ‘WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ISHTAR?’   is dedicated to my sons Anthony, David, Douglas, and to my daughter  Gina,  whose births helped to heal the broken child buried within me and so allowed me to share with them the wonders of growing up and learning

Douglas, Me, Gina, Anthony, David at Lake Rotoiti

Special Thanks:

Thanks and gratitude  to my editor, Natalie Coish, and to the following friends and family members who have shown infinite patience and wisdom while helping me in the long process of researching, writing and editing this book:

Pamela Parkhill (historical Frandi Family photos & documents),  Tony Pengelly,  Kevin  Coory,  Doug Revill,  Gina Revill,  Hudayani Gleeson,  Patricia Bellamy (pre-publisher proof reading), Paul Cathro (blog design),  Bruce McKenzie (book cover artwork),   David & Yvonne Grego (historical Grego family photos & information),  Vas Coory, Henry Coory (historical Coory family photos),  Mary Frandi,  Sister Mary Joanna,  Robb Duncan (portrait & promotional photographer).

To my partner Paul Brooks:

Love and thanks for all the years you have supported me without question, in whatever I have chosen to take on.  You are and always have been the wind beneath my wings.

Thank You Kevin

Kevin (2007)

Thank you, Kevin, for connecting some of my fractured childhood memories.  You alone were able to do that because you were there.  All through the hard times, I never forgot that impish giggle (you were in a pedal car) that captivated me in our first childhood meeting that I can consciously remember.  We shared a deep love for our mother even though she could not be a mother in the true sense of the word.  I know that dredging up these memories is extremely painful for you too, but our story needs to be told for many reasons which will become clear in my book.

Your loving sister

Anne

 

Kevin & Anne Marie c.1949