Hope: Rosie Batty AO

Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre and The Zahra Foundation.
After tragedy, how do we find hope?
Rosie Batty’s new memoir shows what it takes to get through the very worst of times. A singular woman who has experienced tragedy, who had lost all hope, yet now is intent on finding it again. In conversation with CEO of The Zahra Foundation, Kelly-ann Tansley, she discusses her latest book, Hope.
What happens when you become an accidental hero? What happens the day after the worst day of your life? What happens when you are forced to confront the emptiness and silence of a house that once buzzed with the energy of a young son?
You go to dark places from which you're not sure you'll ever recover.
On a warm summer's evening in February 2014, eleven-year-old Luke Batty was killed by his father at cricket practice. It was a horrific act of family violence that shocked Australia.
The next morning, his mother Rosie bravely stood before the media. Her powerful and gut-wrenching words about family violence galvanised the nation and catapulted her into the spotlight. From that day on, Rosie Batty campaigned tirelessly to protect women and children, winning hearts and minds with her courage and compassion, singlehandedly changing the conversation around domestic violence in this country.
Following on from her runaway best-seller A Mother's Story, which detailed the lead-up to her son's murder, Hope shares what happened to Rosie the day after the worst day of her life and how she reclaimed hope when all hope was lost. She shares her struggles with anxiety, PTSD, self-doubt and self-loathing and how she finally confronted her grief. She shares the stories of those who have inspired her to keep going, and given her hope when she needed it most. In this heartfelt, and at times heartbreaking memoir, Rosie tells how she found the light on her darkest days and how she found hope to carry on.
www.hawkecentre.unisa.edu.au