SHAME, GUILT, AND SURVIVING MARTIN BRYANT

Book excerpt: Martin Bryant will always be connected to a great deal of misery, torment and death. But it didn't start on April 28, 1996, the day he murdered thirty-five people in what became known as the Port Arthur Massacre, in Tasmania, Australia. This book isn't just about Martin Bryant. It is one woman's story of how child abuse, trauma and dysfunctional parents made her the perfect candidate for Martin Bryant's unwanted attention, long before the massacre of 1996. Just how did the devastating childhood traumas affect this woman's ability to demand help, to speak, to yell as loudly as she could until something was done to stop his violent stalking of her? Could the massacre have been averted had the laws around stalking supported, rather than limited, police response to her cries for help? What was Martin Bryant like before the massacre? Follow the journey of one of Martin Bryant's invisible victims, as she does her best to describe life before, during and after Martin Bryant entered her life.