Any Ordinary Day

by Leigh Sales

  MacMahon, P.A. (magistrate), Nicholas Waterlow and Chloe Heuston: Reasons for Finding, Glebe NSW: Coroners Court Glebe, 2014b. http://www.coroners.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/waterlow%20and%20heuston%20-%20reasons%20for%20findings.pdf

  ‘Nick and I only had a very few arguments Personal interview, J. Darling with the author, August 2016, Sydney.

  Jane Mowll has a doctorate in psychology Mowll, J., Transition to a New Reality: The Experience of Viewing or not Viewing the Body of a Relative in the Context of Grief after a Sudden and Unexpected Death, University of New South Wales, 2011, Sydney, retrieved from http://www.unsworks.unsw.edu.au/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=UNSWORKS&docId=unsworks_9984

  Juliet found the process of viewing Darling, J., ‘On Viewing Crime Photographs: The Sleep of Reason’, Australian Feminist Law Journal, 40(1), 2014, p 113–116.

  That speech made such an impact Dillon, H., & Hadley, M., The Australasian Coroners’ Manual. Annandale, NSW, The Federation Press, 2015.

  ‘Well, you tell your story Personal interview, S. Sinn with the author, Sydney, September 2016.

  ‘It was the happiest I’ve ever been Personal interview, G. Norris with the author, Sydney, November 2016.

  The legal profession has made a big effort My understanding of therapeutic jurisprudence comes from:

  Wexler, D.B., ‘Therapeutic Jurisprudence: An Overview’, Thomas M. Cooley Law Review, 17(1), 2000, pp 126–134, retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/tmclr17&div=12&id=&page=

  Wexler, D.B., ‘Two Decades of Therapeutic Jurisprudence’, Touro Law Review, 24 (May), 2008, pp 17–29.

  Wexler, D.B., From Theory To Practice and Back Again in Therapeutic Jurisprudence: Now Comes the Hard Part’, Monash University Law Review, 37(1), 2011, pp 33–42, retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=86195601&site=ehost-live&scope=site

  Numerous studies in Australia and overseas have catalogued The discussion about the ways legal processes can harm participants is informed by:

  Tait, G., Carpenter, B., Quedrelli, C., & Barnes, M., ‘Decision-making in a Death Investigation: Emotions, Families and the Coroner’ (author’s version), Journal of Law and Medicine, 23(3), 2016, pp 571–581

  Carpenter, B., Tait, G., Stobbs, N. & Barnes, M., ‘When Coroners Care Too Much: Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Suicide Findings’ (author’s version), Journal of Judicial Administration, 24(3), 2015, pp 172–183

  Dillon & Hadley, op. cit.

  A particularly confronting experience for many bereaved The UK inquiries are covered in Freckleton, I., ‘Death Investigation and the Evolving Role of the Coroner’, Otago Law Review, 11(4), 2008, pp 565–584. The following newspaper articles report the investigation into practices at the Glebe morgue: Whelan, J. & Brown, M., ‘Body of Evidence’, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 March 2001; Patty, A., ‘Giving Him the Horrors: Morgue Tests Shock Coroner’, The Daily Telegraph, 20 March 2001.

  . . . how do you apply therapeutic jurisprudence Some of these examples are drawn from Tait et al., op. cit.; Carpenter et al., op. cit.; and Freckleton, op. cit.

  . . . a wonderful, sensible young woman named Jane Gladman Personal interview, J. Gladman with the author, Sydney, May 2016.

  . . . coroners will generally resist declaring a death a suicide Carpenter, B., Tait, G., Stobbs, N. & Barnes, M., op. cit.

  FIVE: A NEW NORMAL

  ‘I know people think this Personal interview, S. Diver with the author, Thredbo, January 2017.

  For women aged 45–54 The causes of death of Australian women in 2015 can be found in data cube 13 of the ABS annual Causes of Death report: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3303.02015?OpenDocument (accessed 18 February 2017)

  . . . only 6239 men of Stuart’s age This information was provided to me by the Australian Bureau of Statistics from the 2011 Basic Community Profile from Australia’s census data.

  But what about Stuart himself The data regarding the odds of a woman aged 47 dying in the next decade, and the most likely causes of her death, were provided to me by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, relying on their annual Causes of Death report.

  There would be few Australians old enough My account of the Thredbo landslide and Stuart’s experience draws on:

  Diver, S., & Bouda, S., Survival, Pan Macmillan, 1999, Sydney.

  Coroner’s report into the Thredbo landslide: http://www.coroners.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/thredbo%20landslide%201997%20-%20finding%20and%20recommendations.pdf (accessed 17 February 2017)

  Thredbo Resort’s website includes a history section featuring an account of the landslide: https://www.thredbo.com.au/village-life/about-thredbo/history/the-road-collapse-of-97/ (accessed 17 February 2017)

  A close-up image of his dazed face I was unable to ascertain who took this famous photograph. Stuart Diver thought it may have been taken by Paul Featherstone of the NSW Ambulance Service and then provided to the Australian Associated Press. It can be seen at: http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/on-this-day/2013/07/on-this-day-thredbo-landslide

  Of all the tragedies I’ve covered I first wrote about the inquest into the death of Private Jake Kovco shortly after it wound up: Sales, L., ‘When a Mother Can’t Let Go’, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 April 2008. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/when-a-mother-can’t-let-go/2008/04/04/1207249460500.html (accessed 3 February 2018). I also relied in this section on notes that I kept from the military investigation and inquest.

  . . . how well we adjust to a game-changer My understanding of adaptation and the factors influencing it was helped greatly by:

  Lepore, S.J. & Revenson, T.A., ‘Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth: Recovery, Resistance, and Reconfiguration’, Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth: Research & Practice, 2006, retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?auth=shibb&url= http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2006-05098-002&site=eds-live&scope=site

  Wilson, T.D. & Gilbert, D.T., ‘Explaining Away: A Model of Affective Adaptation’, Psychological Science, 3(5), 2008, pp 370–386. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00085.x

  . . . a fixed level of emotional equilibrium and happiness called a set point The discussion of set-point theory draws from:

  Lucas, R.E., ‘Adaptation and the Set-Point Model of Subjective Well-Being’, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(2), 2007, pp 75–79. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00479.x

  Hayward, H., Posttraumatic Growth and Disability: On Happiness, Positivity, and Meaning, Harvard University, 2013.

  Headey, B. & Wearing, A., ‘Personality, Life Events, and Subjective Well-Being: Toward a Dynamic Equilibrium Model’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(4), 1989, pp 731–739. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.4.731

  One person holds many different schemas The explanation of schemas is drawn from:

  Park, C.L., ‘Making Sense of the Meaning Literature: An Integrative Review of Meaning Making and its Effects on Adjustment to Stressful life Events’, Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 2010, pp 257–301. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0018301

  Janoff-Bulman, op. cit.

  Janoff-Bulman, R., Calhoun, L.G. & Tedeschi, R.G, ‘Schema-Change Perspectives on Posttraumatic Growth’, Handbook of posttraumatic growth: Research & Practice, 2006, pp 81–99, retrieved from http://rlib.pace.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2006-05098-005&site=ehost-live&scope=site

  There are literally dozens of studies cataloguing Park, op. cit.; Bulman, R.J. & Wortman, C.B., ‘Attributions of Blame and Coping in the “Real World”: Severe Accident Victims React to Their Lot’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(5), 1977, pp 351–63. http://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.35.5.351

  When the brain keeps ruminating Janoff-Bulman, op. cit.

  They pop up so regularly that The Australasian Coroners’ Manual Dillon & Hadley, op. cit.

  ‘That’s nice to hear,’ says Mary Jerram Personal i
nterview M. Jerram with the author, April 2016, Sydney.

  A coroner is basically a fact-finder The following publications informed my explanation of the role, function and challenges of a coroner: Dillon & Hadley, op. cit.; Tait, G., Carpenter, B., Quedrelli, C. & Barnes, M., ‘Decision-making in a Death Investigation: Emotions, Families and the Coroner’ (author’s version), Journal of Law and Medicine, 23(3), 2016, pp 571–581; Freckleton, op. cit.

  One of the cases that most affected Mary The accounts of the Cho inquest are drawn from:

  ‘Coroner Urges Reform after Nut Allergy Death’, ABC News 2012, retrieved 29 June 2016 from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-14/coroner-urges-reform-after-nut-allergy-death/4429000

  Bodkin, P., ‘Raymond Cho Decided “Walnut Cookie was OK”, Daily Telegraph, 11 December 2012, retrieved from http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/raymond-cho-decided-walnut-cookie-was-ok/story-fndo4bst-1226534415109

  Gardiner, S., ‘I Don’t Think We’re Ever Going to Know Why He Did That’, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 2012, retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/i-dont-think-were-ever-going-to-know-why-he-did-that-no-one-to-blame-in-tragedy-of-schoolboy-with-allergy-who-died-after-eating-walnut-biscuit-20121214-2bepl.html

  SIX: OUT OF THE ASHES

  In John Irving’s novel Irving, J., The World According to Garp, E.P. Dutton, 1978, Boston.

  No matter how miserable the weather The reconstruction of Matt and Hannah’s life is drawn from various sources, including: personal interview, H. Richell with the author, June 2016, Sydney; Matt’s Twitter feed, retrieved 20 July 2016 from https://twitter.com/mattrichell; and Hannah’s blog https://hannahrichell.wordpress.com/ (accessed 25 August 2016)

  On this particular day, Matt and Adam For this account I relied on the findings of the coronial inquest into Matt’s death: Barnes, M.A. (NSW SC), Inquest into the Death of Matthew Thomas Richell, Glebe NSW: State Coroners Court of New South Wales, March 2016, http://www.coroners.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Richell%20Findings%20Final.pdf

  Before long an ambulance was on the sand My description is based on Adam Simpson’s account and a news photograph taken on the day: Hansen, N., ‘Coroner to Find How Surfer Died’, Wentworth Courier, 27 January 2016, Sydney, p 7.

  Hannah distinctly remembers the overwhelming feeling Personal interview, H. Richell with the author, June 2016, Sydney.

  Although a person dies in Australia every three minutes This was sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/1647509ef7e25faaca2568a900154b63?OpenDocument

  There is some research that shows it’s ultimately psychologically useful Mowll, J., Transition to a New Reality: The Experience of Viewing or Not Viewing the Body of a Relative in the Context of Grief after a Sudden and Unexpected Death, University of New South Wales, 2011, retrieved from http://www.unsworks.unsw.edu.au/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=UNSWORKS&docId=unsworks_9984

  The positive changes that Hannah experienced My explanation of posttraumatic growth, including its definition, the types of growth and the factors predisposing an individual to experiencing it, are drawn from:

  Calhoun, L.G. & Tedeschi, R.G., ‘The Foundations of Posttraumatic Growth: An Expanded Framework’, in L.G. Calhoun & R.G. Tedeschi (eds), Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth: Research & Practice, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006, New York, pp 3–23, retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2006-05098-001&site=ehost-live

  Hayward, H., Posttraumatic Growth and Disability: On Happiness, Positivity, and Meaning, Harvard University, 2013.

  Lepore, S.J. & Revenson, T.A., ‘Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth: Recovery, Resistance, and Reconfiguration’, Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth: Research & Practice, 2006, retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?auth=shibb&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2006-05098-002&site=eds-live&scope=site

  Rendon, J., Upside: The New Science of Posttraumatic Growth, Touchstone, 2015, New York.

  Tedeschi, R.G. & Calhoun, L.G., ‘Posttraumatic Growth: A New Perspective on Psychotraumatology’, Psychiatric Times, April 2004, pp 58–60.

  There have been dozens of studies on the phenomenon Linley, P.A. & Joseph, S., ‘Positive Change Following Trauma and Adversity: A Review’, Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17(2), 2004, pp 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOTS.0000014671.27856.7e

  In a survey in 2001, data was collected from almost Frazier, P., Conlon, A. & Glaser, T., ‘Positive and Negative Life Changes Following Sexual Assault’, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69(6), 2001, pp 1048–1055. http://doi.org/10.1037/AJ022-006X.69.6.1048

  In another study, in 2004, 162 breast cancer survivors Manne, S., Ostroff, J., Winkel, G., Goldstein, L., Fox, K. & Grana, G, ‘Posttraumatic Growth after Breast Cancer: Patient, Partner, and Couple Perspectives’, Psychosomatic Medicine, 66(17), 2004, pp 442–454. http://doi.org/10.1097/01.psy.0000127689.38525.7d

  More fascinating research emerged in the aftermath Davis, C.G., Wohl, M.J. & Verberg, N., ‘Profiles of Posttraumatic Growth Following an Unjust Loss’, Death Studies, 31(8), 2007, pp 693–712. http://doi.org/10.1080/07481180701490578

  That guide was the woman Hannah met Personal interview, W. Liu with the author, June 2016, Sydney.

  SEVEN: ORDINARY DAYS

  . . . the American singer Patti Smith lost her husband suddenly Smith, P., ‘How Does it Feel’, The New Yorker, 14 December 2016. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/patti-smith-on-singing-at-bob-dylans-nobel-prize-ceremony (accessed 3 February 2018)

  Being struck by something awful Gilbert, D., 2006, op. cit.

  . . . a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence assault Bowden, T., ‘The Kindness of Strangers’, 7.30, 21 March 2016. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/the-kindness-of-strangers-sees-domestic-violence/7264936 (accessed 3 February 2018)

  . . . we aired a story about a shortage of rental housing McCutcheon, P., ‘Murwillumbah Flood Victims Desperately Waiting for Housing Assistance’, 7.30, 3 May 2017. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/homeless-murwillumbah-flood-victims-seeking-housing-help/8493510 (accessed 3 February 2018)

  . . . we had a piece about disabled kids Robinson, L., ‘Sometimes People Need a Little Help Finding Romance’, 7.30, 22 September 2015. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/sometimes-people-need-a-little-help-finding/6796670 (accessed 3 February 2018)

  I am indebted to the people who trusted me enough to talk to me for this project, some of whom have had more than their fill of journalists and all of whom have had more than their fill of suffering. Juliet Darling, Stuart Diver, Louisa Hope, Walter Mikac, Hannah Richell, James Scott and Michael Spence: I hope I have rewarded your trust by giving true and honest accounts of what you went through in a way that honours your own experiences and the lives of those who were loved and lost.

  Thank you to the other people who were interviewed. I am particularly grateful to Her Honour Magistrate Mary Jerram AM, Jane Gladman, Wendy Liu, Father Steve Sinn, Noni Hazlehurst AM, the Honourable John Howard OM AC, Graham Norris, Dr Amanda Gearing and Lynn Houlahan.

  For their additional assistance, I extend my gratitude to Angus Huntsdale at the NSW Department of Justice, Michael Wilson at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Shona Whitton at the Australian Red Cross, Professor James Curran at the University of Sydney, Kirsty Thompson and Simon Bouda at the Nine Network Australia, Dr Denis Muller at the University of Melbourne, the Honourable Dr Andrew Leigh MP, His Honour Judge Roger Dive, Dr Jill Gordon, Johannes Leak and Adam Simpson.

  Ben Ball was a dream editor: enthusiastic, encouraging and full of thoughtful suggestions that helped me enormously. Ben, I so appreciate your belief in me and your understanding of what I was hoping to do. Thank you also to copyeditor Meredith Rose for her excellent suggestions and tweaks. My gratitude to the rest of the team at Penguin Random House too.

  This book could not have been written without my incredible researche
r, Cathy Beale. Her attention to detail, ability to find relevant work, eye for an anecdote and unparalleled organisational skills saved me many hours. Thank you Cathy for agreeing to work for me on your only day off every week.

  Deep thanks to my dear friend Pamela Williams for being my primary sounding board on the manuscript and for her remarkable friendship. There is no more generous and caring person that I know.

  Other friends provided counsel and encouragement and I thank them with love: Julia Baird, Annabel Crabb, Callum Denness, Hugh Dillon, Mia Freedman, Benjamin Law, Lisa Millar, Caroline Overington, Sarina Rowell, Sally Sara and Cath Sullivan.

  My friends, colleagues and family keep me going as always. Thank you to all of you but especially to Mum and Dad for so much support in recent years. You’ve been the greatest parents anyone could hope for and I appreciate every day how much you’ve done for me.

  Finally, I wish kind fates on my sons, Daniel and James, and on days of both triumph and tragedy, I hope that they remember Robert Frost’s wisdom about life: it goes on.

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