What life is like after a stroke

I had a stroke in 2012. I don’t recommend the experience. And in case you’re wondering, no, I didn’t handle it well.

Just ask my family. (Don’t worry. I’m ok now.)

The reason I told you that is to tell you this. In 2022, I was working on a documentary when Piers Grove, one of the media blokes I was sharing a foxhole with, had a stroke.

Piers was in his 40s with a young family — like I was in 2012 — so I got in touch and told Piers all of the mistakes I made in the hope that he’d avoid my potholes.

Interestingly, one of the things I did to understand what I’d been through was write a collection of poetry, Year of the Wasp. Piers has gone down a different, but similar route: producing a podcast, 404: Brain Not Found, that digs into the nitty gritty of what happened to him and what it all means. It’s a great podcast.

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As a part of his podcast, Piers also wanted to reprise the conversation we had in the immediate aftermath of his stroke. So we did.

It’s the sixth episode of the podcast series. You can listen to it here.

The Bookshelf interview

Radio National’s The Bookshelf has run an extended interview I did with Kate Evans.

It gets a little intense.

Listen here.

A decade in the wilderness

Ten years ago, in December 2013, I stopped. And started.

I stopped working for someone else and started working for myself as a freelance writer.

Since then, I’ve written thousands of speeches for domestic and international audiences, edited and re-written hundreds of policy documents, cleaned up after some big-end-of-town consultancies, carried out major research projects for Royal Commissions and documentaries and NGOs, and lectured in universities.

I've also — during the past decade — published three books: one non-fiction, one poetry collection, one novel.

The best part about what I do is the flexibility. I’ve maximised my time with my three children and my wife. I also love that — in essence — I’m paid to meet new people and learn new things.

In recent years, another highlight has been the time I’ve spent with the Pathways to Politics program, teaching speechwriting to aspiring female politicians. I suspect I’ve learned more from the Pathways cohorts than they’ve learned from me.

And what does the next decade hold?

More novels. More poetry. More teaching. More time with my family. And less speeches.

A Maddening Country

I have a comment piece on the political aftermath of the Voice referendum in the latest edition of Australian Book Review. It’s titled ‘A Maddening Country’.

Here’s a snippet.

You can buy a copy of ABR at a good bookshop or subscribe at their website here.

Regarding Kirsten

On January 29, 1987, I walked into the Herald and Weekly Times building on Flinders St.

I was 17 and starting work as a copy boy at the Sun News-Pictorial, the biggest selling newspaper in the southern hemisphere.

I wasn’t alone. Standing with me on the checkerboard floor in the foyer of the HWT were seventeen other rookies. Five copy kids, six first year cadets, six third year cadets.

One of those first year cadets was a girl from Sydney-via-New Zealand-via-Coburg.

Her name was Kirsten Hill.

My life changed when I met Kirsten.

She is my partner in crime. She is the mother of my three children. She is the one who calls bullshit on my bullshit. She is the one who cares the most. She is my best friend.

And today is our wedding anniversary.

This picture is us standing on the Blairgowrie jetty in 1999. At the time we were living in Berkeley and were visiting Australia after flying south for a wedding in New Zealand.

Love you, Kirsten.