image of person or book cover 1358134799033334716.jpg
This image has been sourced from online.
Issue Details: First known date: 2015... 2015 All the Days After : A Story of Love, Loss and Resilience beyond Black Saturday
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'All the Days After is a personal and revealing account of how it feels to be one of the many affected by a major natural disaster. 'It was still hot. The soft drink cans would have to be cooled before Barry could open them. I wished I had brought some ice in a little Esky to keep them cool. Still, I had not realised it would all take this long. And I had brought the drinks. I fleetingly wondered if I should have bought some food for Barry as well. But no, the women's auxiliary would probably have plied him with scones and sandwiches at the evacuation centre. Barry always liked scones. He used to buy two plain scones at the Whittlesea bakery on his way to work some mornings. I felt sure he would just be desperately in need of a soft drink after being forced to drink tea for so many hours; food would not be a problem. Up ahead of me I saw the police officer get out of his car.' Local teacher Sue Gunningham waits impatiently in her car for news of her long-time partner Barry Johnston, who has been declared missing in the savage bushfires that would come to be known as the 'Black Saturday' fires.

'She worked that morning, Saturday 7 February 2009, and so was not at home at their cottage 'Waldene' near Kinglake when the bushfire swept through. Little does she realise that the loss of her partner is just the beginning of her battle to keep a place for her in his life ...and to save the memory of their love. The book is divided into four sections: 'Lost' (the frantic search for Barry in the days after the fire); 'Stolen' (dealing with the Coroner's identification process, solicitors and the funeral parlor in a struggle to have Barry's remains identified and returned to Sue); 'Examined' (the continual round of formal interviews with police, case managers, psychologists and the Victoria Bushfire Royal Commission); and 'Rebuild' (dealing with the burnt-out site and trying to rebuild both the cottage and a life). Raw and compelling, All the Days After will resonate with anyone who has suffered through devastating grief.

It is Sue's personal story of love lost, grief and rebuilding, but it is also the story of the lesser known aftermath of a major tragedy; one involving family disputes, inquests, a Royal Commission and more, and how events play out when you're involved on the inside as opposed to being a remote spectator.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Warriewood, Northern Beaches area, Sydney Northeastern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Finch , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 1358134799033334716.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 267 pages, [8 unnumbered pages of plates]p.
      Description: colour illustrations, portraits
      Note/s:
      • Publication Date: 01 November 2015
      ISBN: 9781925048506

Works about this Work

Courage in the Face of Catastrophe Candida Baker , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 5-6 December 2015; (p. 31)

— Review of All the Days After : A Story of Love, Loss and Resilience beyond Black Saturday Sue Gunningham , 2015 single work autobiography
Courage in the Face of Catastrophe Candida Baker , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 5-6 December 2015; (p. 31)

— Review of All the Days After : A Story of Love, Loss and Resilience beyond Black Saturday Sue Gunningham , 2015 single work autobiography
Last amended 21 Nov 2015 18:29:27
X