A member of the Stolen Generations, Ruby Hunter was taken from her family when she was eight years old. Descended from the Ngarrindjeri, Kokatha and Pitjantjatjara people, she would spend the next few years of her life in and out of children’s homes and foster families. As a teenager in Adelaide she met the young Archie Roach and, happily, formed a partnership with him in music and life that lasted until her death in 2010. Roach encouraged her to learn the guitar and write her own songs, leading to the creation of her 1994 debut, Thoughts Within. Hunter was the first Aboriginal woman to record a solo album and to be signed to a major label, and sang with the likes of Tracy Chapman and Bob Dylan. But it is telling that when asked, she considered her proudest achievement was keeping her family—Roach and their children—together. This enduring belief in love and togetherness, despite the tragedy of her early years, can be felt throughout Thoughts Within. There is not one skerrick of self-pity to the introspective sadness of “Who’s To Blame”, in the quiet stoicism of “Proud, Proud Woman” or in the peaceful protest song that is “Let My Children Be”. Though Thoughts Within paints lyrically devastating pictures of modern life as a First Nations woman, each delicate refrain conveys Hunter’s decision to choose hope over despair at every turn.