Newsletter Number Seven - March 2024

Introduction

A warm hello to my regulars and welcome to new subscribers. I do hope you find something new to think about, perhaps feel inspired to become more creative or to move more after reading my words. Make yourself a cuppa, sit back and enjoy. And do share my newsletter with any friends who you think might enjoy it. Old newsletters can be accessed via the archive on my webpage. This newsletter is a long one, so pour yourself a cuppa (or two), relax and dive in.

I was privileged to attend the funeral of one of my patients today. I don’t usually attend patient funerals and we are not supposed to have favourites, but Mrs M was special. It was a full Catholic Mass with all the smells and bells and ended with Holy Communion. She was a regular, sat in the same pew week after week, the priest told us. I’m a bit of a sucker for rituals and symbolism and what they represent - the belief in a world beyond what we see, the lighting of candles and seeing a bit of that light in every human being, however flawed they might be.

I’ve attended many churches over the years. I’m not brand specific. I’ve managed to get myself expelled from two of them and was told in no uncertain terms never to return. (I’ll save those stories for another newsletter). Churches as institutions are at times horribly flawed and have been at the core of some of the worst abuses in our society. Today reminded me that our churches and religious institutions also comprise of people like my delightful patient, Mrs M. Kind, compassionate and quietly strident in her absolute belief in the goodness of people. I learnt so much about her today. As well as being a great lover of desserts (something she didn’t tell me as I attempted to control her diabetes) she was tireless in her efforts to make the world a better place.

I loved listening to the loving, at times irreverent, and humorous eulogy. Funerals are a great opportunity to prioritise what is important, to reflect on our values and remind ourselves that our time here is short.

If you are afraid to live the life that really matters to you, pause and write your own eulogy. How do you want others to remember you? Sometimes the best place to begin is at the end. To consider the outcome you are hoping for and work your way backwards. It might convince you to become kinder, more generous, to spend more time with the people you love and do what you are passionate about.

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Correction – in my February newsletter, there was an error. In GP wisdom, the heading should have read There are Four Principles to follow when treating insomnia.

Book launch and a Month of Wins

It has been a busy month for me. I was absolutely delighted to be accepted for a lighthouse residency and am heading there to write for a whole week in June. My Furious Fiction story, The Truth about the Tooth Fairy made their showcase and then another one of my novels, The Family, long listed in The Hawkeye Unpublished Manuscript Award. Writing is like that. Long months of drought followed by unexpected and delightful wins that make the heart sing with joy. The secret is to keep writing and rewriting allowing the process of creativity to find the magic waiting to take shape in your imagination.

With the publication of my book getting closer, I have reached the exciting stage of getting a cover designed, sending in my bio, dedication, and acknowledgments. The hardest part was contacting other authors and asking for endorsements. Reaching out to authors whose books I love and asking them to read my debut and give feedback was very challenging and I found myself well outside my comfort zone. Every single person I asked was generous and kind. I guess they have all been there too. None of us starts out with a string of publications let alone a bestseller under our belt.

What really made me smile though, is author Cass Moriarty reminding me I am now part of the BrisLitMafia. I have never been more delighted to be part of a group. I might even have badges made up. Thank you to everyone who has supported my writing, editing and journey to publication to date. I used to think writing the books was the hard part!

I am now an author on the Hawkeye website. Just writing that gave me goosebumps. Check out my profile if you are interested. All feedback welcome.

And while I mention book launches, I am thrilled to be heading to Melbourne for the launch of Anne Freeman’s new book, Me That You See. Anne is an award-winning women’s fiction author and her latest book is a real treat. Head online and order yourself a copy.​

I am so excited to finally meet Anne in person. I promise there will be some photographs of two very excited women hugging each other in the March edition of my newsletter.

Running

Most of us are familiar with the mind-body connection. The idea that our thoughts are powerful and have a significant impact not only on our self-belief but on our actions. If your inner voice whispers – don’t be silly, you can’t run/dance/climb mountains. You are too fat/unfit/busy/lazy – the chances are you won’t risk it and give it a go.

But did you know that your body can also have a profound impact on the mind? When you do run (walk/dance/climb mountains) there are a range of well researched physiological effects on the brain. The flow of oxygen to neurones will increase. The number of neurotransmitters increases enabling you to focus, concentrate, learn and create more effectively. The number of brain-derived neurotrophins is increased which supports the integrity of brain cells responsible for learning, memory, higher thinking and dare I suggest, creativity.

I was so excited when I listened to the writes4women podcast and heard the fabulous interview with Holly Ringland (author of international best seller The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) talking about her non-fiction book, The House that Joy Built. It is a craft book not just for writing but for Being. And if you don’t already listen to listen to this podcast, I highly recommend it. It is one of my favourites, full of practical advice and shared stories about the writing life.

I went out and bought Holly's book and this one line really shouted at me from the page. ‘So, one day I laced up my running shoes. And that’s when I learned that running can also be writing.’

Holly found herself stuck, her creativity blocked, her past trauma locking her into procrastination, afraid of what she might release once she began to commit words to the page. She left her desk, laced up and began running through her resistance. Day after day she continued to run, step by step until her resistance and procrastination resolved and she gifted us, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.

Her gradual running habit taught her to break down the huge project of writing her novel into tiny steps. As her body became accustomed to short distances, she ran further and became stronger, enabling her to progress her writing one word, one sentence, one paragraph at a time. She quotes Ben Hart, an expert in human behaviour change who works to rehabilitate donkeys at a sanctuary not far from Holly’s Manchester home. ‘Don’t fear small steps, fear standing still.’

And the more often you lace up and get out the door, the more you subdue those voices telling you that you can’t. Creativity is the intersection of the body and mind, that magical space where our often confusing and free ranging inner life hovers in the imagination waiting to be unlocked and set free. As you head out and put one foot in front of the other you allow yourself to experience the world through your five senses. You step out of your head and into your body and find yourself on the path into your inner world. There may be an idea there for a story, past trauma you have dissociated from, experiences that have left scars in your psyche. Keep moving through whatever it is you find there, allowing your body and mind to work in harmony while you learn more about the incredible and at times quirky person you are.

Consider doing something active to fuel your brain cells knowing that it will improve not only your creativity but your productivity and mood. Regular physical exercise leads to permanent structural changes in the brain which not only have the immediate benefits listed above but reduce cognitive decline. In fact, there are government guidelines recommending physical activity for every age group based on rigorous research.

Stand up. Lace up. Get out the door and start putting one foot in front of the other.

Feed your brain. Nurture your creativity and don’t forget to have fun.

Writing Pearl Number Seven

Set High Standards

This is the last of my seven pearls of wisdom writing tips. If you want to read the other six, do head to the archives on my webpage where you can access my earlier newsletters. I adapted these from a chi running program I participated in prior to my year of marathons where I ran a marathon a month. I found the tips so helpful that I translated them to other areas of my life including my writing. I hope they inspire your writing and your life as well.

Robert Browning wrote, Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for.

Aim high with your words. Approach your writing the same way you would if you were training for a marathon. When you train for a distance event, you plan what needs to happen to get you to the start line. Note, I don’t say the finish line, because it is possible you will not finish. Anything can happen on the day of a distance running event. You may feel a bit below par, sustain an injury or it just might not be your day. However, to get yourself on the start line is a huge achievement and requires multiple small steps.

You need to lace up and get out there regularly despite the weather being too hot, too cold or too wet. You need to eat well, to plan your running fuel and get plenty of sleep. You may need a stretching or recovery program or meet up regularly with supportive running friends who are ready to prod you along to help you reach your goal.

It is the same with a creative pursuit like writing. It is helpful to set targets, of what you hope to achieve and when. It may be entering a competition you’ve had your eye on or submitting a non-fiction article to a magazine. Perhaps you want to draw up a list of publishers and/or agents to submit your novel to. The thing is, you may not win that competition or land the publishing contract, but you should still aim high and submit your best possible work. Just like a marathon, the majority of runners will just finish. It will take some of them much longer than others, but the achievement is no less. Every runner who has trained hard and lines up at the start has worked hard to get there and so it is with every piece you write and submit.

Spend time working out how you will achieve your writing goals. Work out how much time you can commit and be selfish about it. Ensure everyone around you knows that you put a priority on your writing, that you value your time above all else. And it might be you need to lower your standards when it comes to housekeeping while you aim high with your words! Enlist help with housework and have a few quick and easy meals that only require minutes to prepare. My go to easy meals include buying pocket breads, falafels and salads or poke bowls where all I need to do is turn the rice cooker on, add some vegies and poach some eggs as a garnish.

Find yourself a writing group or a reliable friend or two who are happy to critique your work and give feedback. Sign up for classes to improve your writing craft. Focus on areas where you struggle. There are so many weekend and evening workshops available. Become a member of your local writing centre and you will be sent regular newsletters about the courses available. I regularly attend courses at Queensland Writers Centre, and am looking forward to an upcoming series of lectures, The Next Draft with Laurel Cohn  where I hope to polish my recently finished manuscript. When I needed help fine tune my author website, I signed up with The Australian Writers Centre to do a course called Your Author Website online with Michelle Barraclough. And I have also done courses with Brisbane Writers Workshop about character when I needed to delve deeper into the motivations of Fin, the protagonist in my soon-to-be published novel.

As a writer, you are constantly learning, improving, rewriting, reaching for the stars. The more you connect with other writers, attend writerly events and courses, the more your own work will shine. You will grow into your creativity and find your unique voice, tell the stories that hover unformed in your imagination. Have a browse and see how your writing project can become a polished gem.

Once you have written your article, short story, or novel, proofread it. Read it aloud to pick up any errors and then ask fellow writers or friends to read it and give feedback. Rewrite and edit your work again. And again.

Once you are happy with it, read the guidelines for the competition or submission carefully. Print them out and highlight the important bits. Follow the guidelines, however tedious they may seem. If you are asked to submit thirty pages, don’t submit thirty-two. Double spacing, Times New Roman font means just that. Your submission is not an exception to the guidelines.

Ensure your work stands out for the right reasons, not because of poor grammar or shoddy setting out. Aim high and let your words stand out and shine. Give your work the best possible chance by paying meticulous attention to detail. And when your story doesn’t get listed and your novel is rejected, lace up and go outside for a long walk or run. Allow yourself to grieve and then come back to your desk and do it all over again.

Aim for the stars. Set high standards.

And most of all, have fun and good luck.

GP Wisdom – Alcohol

I promised a series of lifestyle pieces in my newsletter dealing with evidence-based ways to manage mental health. You can have a search through the archive to read about diet, exercise and sleep. This month I will take a deep breath and tackle alcohol, a topic guaranteed to cause controversy.

In medical school, we were required to take on a research project in our fourth year, to choose a topic, collect the data then present it to our peers. I chose to spend three months starting my day on the orthopaedic ward interviewing each new patient to determine whether alcohol had directly or indirectly been involved in their admission. I was shocked to learn that 67% of the admissions were in some way connected to alcohol. Just over 40% of these were related to falls with numerous of these occurring in elderly women living alone and drinking due to grief or loneliness. Nearly 20% were assaults with most the result of domestic violence, or brawls after a night out drinking, and the remaining were motor vehicle accidents with the patient either driving under the influence or injuring another person as a result of driving under the influence. These statistics are sobering. Pun intended.

The Australian Bureau of statistics recorded 1,742 alcohol-induced deaths in Australia in 2022 from liver cirrhosis or alcohol-induced poisoning. This represents a 9.1% increase from the previous year or five people per day. These figures significantly under report the other related harms related to alcohol including intentional self-harm. Just to give an indication of the negative impact of alcohol in Australia, alcohol-related injuries resulted in just over 300,000 hospital admissions in 2019-2020 (118 per 100,000 population) and 1,950 deaths. (7.7 per 100,000 population).

When I talk to patients about their drinking, I am mindful of how pervasive the culture of drinking to excess is in Australia. There is vocal opposition to any policy restricting the advertising, marketing, pricing, taxation, or availability of alcohol. When liquor licensing restrictions were introduced in 2014 in New South Wales, there was a public outcry and yet there was a significant reduction in the number of assault-related admissions in the five years following these restrictions.

The guidelines for safe drinking are as follows:

Two alcohol free days per week and a maximum of ten standard drinks per week with no more than four standard drinks on any one day.

Those under eighteen should not drink at all.

No alcohol for women who are pregnant and breastfeeding,

A standard drink is 10g of alcohol. The following chart is a guide to help you work out how much you are drinking.

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I am often met with disbelief when I discuss safe drinking. But I don’t black out, All my friends drink more than me, I don’t have a problem, I only drink on weekends and at parties.

Just for the record, I do drink alcohol and enjoy a glass or two on weekends and at my monthly meeting with Brisbane Scribes. However, I have done too many shifts in emergency departments and seen too many lives torn apart by excessive alcohol consumption to ignore the negative impacts that ensue. Most of the patients I see who drink to excess are highly functioning individuals who are working full time and meeting their responsibilities. They are often surprised when I suggest that that they are drinking at hazardous levels and their peers would be unaware they have an issue.

I recall an evening where one of my colleagues was regaling us with stories about her son’s twenty-first, where they all drank so much that they were wading through vomit the next morning. The tale was told with much hilarity, as if the aftermath was a measure of how much fun they’d had. Her son is privileged with a good education and the alcohol was supplied by his parents. I didn’t say anything and wondered afterwards if I should have. Those who drink modestly or not at all are, after all, wowsers and party poopers. And it is this very culture that makes it difficult for individuals to change, to continue to go out and have fun while declining the inevitable drinks that accompany every occasion.

I invite you to take a small health quiz to check if you are placing your health at risk with your drinking. It only takes a few minutes.

Have a look at the FARE – Foundation for Alcohol and Research and Education. It is a great resource with up-to-date research, resources and tips and tricks for reducing your intake or supporting a friend or loved one who drinks to excess.

And if you drink daily, have ever needed a drink to get yourself going in the morning, have blacked out and don’t recall periods of time after drinking, missed days at work because you are hungover, do seek help. Have a chat to your GP.

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Note - In last month's newsletter, I included the link to the newly published book by Jenny Adams, one of the Brisbane Scribes. A Sleep Divorce - How to Sleep Apart not Fall Apart, is a collaboration with well-known UK sleep researcher, Dr Neil Stanley, who has over forty years experience in the field of sleep, and is a dedicated separate sleeper himself. Amazon has decided to make the book available through the Australian site now, so here's an updated link  for buying the book - maybe for you, maybe for someone you know who might benefit from reading it. I highly recommend the extensively researched book about sleep, particularly if you are considering sleeping separately from your partner.

You might also want to visit Jenny’s website if you want to learn more about separate sleeping or get in touch with her.

What I am Reading - Book Review​

Wasted – by Elspeth Muir

I’ve had Elspeth Muir’s Stella Prize long listed book, Wasted, on my shelf for a few years but couldn’t bring myself to read about a young man who plunged off the Story Bridge after a night of drinking. It was a line in Trent Dalton’s latest bestselling book, Lola in the Mirror, that prompted me to dust Muir’s book off and read it.

Drunk idiots jump in there at night thinkin’ they’ll be able to swim across it. But that bitch is angry inside. She don’t let anyone cross her. She saps their strength with her current.

Wasted is such an intimate and heartbreaking book. While Dalton’s book deals with those who are left behind and struggle to survive day to day, Muir comes from a family of privilege and opportunities. Death and alcohol don’t discriminate.

The opening paragraphs of Muir’s book, in a chapter aptly named, The River, are so beautiful and heartbreaking. She contrasts a lush, tropical Brisbane day bursting with colour, sound and life with the futility of losing her brother just after he graduated from university. She has an uncanny ability to weave a memoir of grief and loss seamlessly with reportage. Her work explores the reasons why some of us drink to excess and the social and personal impacts of the Australian drinking culture that applauds getting wasted at every opportunity.

Although it was published in 2016, its messages are as relevant, if not more so, today. If you enjoy eloquent prose entwined with sobering facts about a significant social problem, I highly recommend it.

The Bait Trap by Lynne Johnson

Set in the Australian Riverina, The Bait Trap opens with a grisly murder, plunging us into the secrets, conflicts and issues that simmer just below the surface in the small town of Cooinda. When urban cop, Zac Byrne is sent to investigate the disappearance of well-liked local John Judd, we learn that Byrne has his own ghosts. Recently separated from his wife, he is determined to overcome his alcohol addiction and finds himself embroiled not in a missing person investigation but a homicide.

While having all the ingredients we expect from a gritty crime novel, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns, Johnson also explores the complex issues of excessive drinking and its wide-reaching impacts. In Australia, our relationship with drinking is bittersweet and we turn a blind eye to the highly functional alcoholic who still turns up for work and maintains an outwardly sober appearance. There is always an outcry when attempts are made to regulate the alcohol industry despite evidence that this leads to fewer admissions to emergency departments and reduces deaths related both directly and indirectly to excessive alcohol consumption

With her personal experience working as a lawyer and attaining sobriety, Johnson delivers a crime fiction novel to satisfy not only readers of crime but anyone who enjoys intriguing plot twists, a smattering of romance and family conflicts. I was on the edge of my seat up till the very end.

The beauty of genre writing is that it provides the scaffolding for the skilled author to nudge us to think about broader social issues and The Bait Trap delivers not only an enjoyable read but holds a mirror to our fraught love affair with that most common of drugs, alcohol.

One of my stories

In 2010, I did a series of remote locums in Weipa on Cape York Peninsula. This involved being on call on alternate nights and doing some clinics at the even more remote communities of Mapoon and Napranum. The latter was supposedly a dry community, and we couldn’t help but smile when we drove past the large sign announcing no alcohol beyond this point with a huge pile of empties underneath. There are limited outlets selling alcohol to take home and a couple of venues where you could buy a drink to enjoy with or without a meal.

I still recall the year I was on call for New Year’s Eve. I was dreading the overnight shift. Being in the emergency department as a female doctor with one nurse to assist while a stream of drunken, abusive patients stumbled through was daunting. Thirty-six hours before New Year’s Eve, it was announced that that all takeaway outlets would be closed in two hours. You could still enjoy alcohol at the three venues in town.

The positive for me was that I only saw one patient all evening. He needed sutures after an injury and was stone sober. I wonder how we would react in Brisbane if a similar edict was announced just before New Year’s Eve?

We are selective when it comes to wanting something done about drug related issues. We all expect the right to enjoy alcohol but are happy for minority groups to be targeted when governments want to be seen to curtail the harms of alcohol. Even though there is solid evidence that alcohol related problems occur across the whole population, programs are often targeted at select groups. Minors, drink drivers, single mothers and Indigenous people. And we judge harshly if a mother, minor or Aboriginal person develops alcohol-related problems. We demand harsh penalties and punitive sentencing  but do not tolerate the same when our politicians, bankers, lawyers and doctors drink to excess and behave poorly (or fall off planter boxes, cussing).

I wrote Jemima’s story after working with a young mother who lost custody of her child due to drug and alcohol related issues. It was the trigger that led her to seek help.

Second Chances

Jemima started to have doubts about her plan. If she was caught out, there would be no second chances. Todd would make sure of that. Her throat tightened and she had to take a couple of deep breaths and close her eyes for a minute. It was harmless, no one would be hurt, it would all be okay.  She leant forward and peered into the broken mirror.  She barely recognized herself, her face thick with white paint, her lips blood red, her eyes disguised inside the glitter of sparkling make up.

            She slipped into the tutu and spangled white jacket, ensured her arms were covered. She pulled on a wig, added gossamer wings that floated behind her like magic and grabbed her tasselled wand.  Heart fluttering, she headed to the party in the park.

            She stopped just short of the table strung with balloons and streamers then inhaled sharply. The blonde setting out fairy bread, cupcakes and neat slices of watermelon must be her. Todd’s wife. Jemima had hoped that she would be ugly, fall short in some obvious way, but she was too bloody good to be true in her expensive sundress, nails done, skin flawless.

            Jemima turned to leave. Her wings sagged her wand drooped. Suddenly, she heard laughter and a dozen little girls emerged in a jumble of party dresses.  Grubby fingers reached for food. The juice toppled, a balloon burst like a gunshot and Jemima paused. She had to look. Just for a moment, to reassure herself.

            There she was.  Strawberry blonde, scrawny with a cinnamon dusting of freckles across her cheeks. She clutched a wedge of watermelon and it dripped onto her dress.  She kicked off her shoes, ran then stopped, right in front of Jemima. They stared at each other. Time veered, paused and the park blurred for a moment. Jemima had the overwhelming thought, How long would I get for abduction. Then the world righted itself and Jemima breathed out, stilled the noise in her head.

            The little person who stood in front of her did not seem surprised.  She dropped the watermelon into the dirt and crossed her arms.  Jemima waved her wand and wished for all the things that would never be hers then crouched down until they were eye to eye, nose to nose and sized each other up. Jemima smiled. This one would give Mrs Too Good To be True a run for her bloody money. 

            Then the moment passed, and Jemima was alone again.

            She walked home and stared at herself in the broken mirror. Her face, like her heart, shattered into fragments. She was clean now had done her time, but it was too late.  Some mistakes were just too big. She would never kiss her daughter to sleep at night, read her stories, be her mum.  She closed her eyes and remembered her little girl’s watermelon scented breath, the soft curls haloed around the freckled face.

            I’m sorry, she whispered. I’m so sorry.

Published in Queensland Writers Centre - Right, Left Write Anthology Volume One 2019-20