About the Author
I have led an amazing life!
Surviving the badlands of the Western Suburbs of Sydney, as a young person, I served with the 3rd Battalion (Para) Royal Australian Regiment for several years, before riding a Kawasaki Z1000 up the East Coast of Australia to Cairns, where I have lived ever since.
Once settled, I became a qualified carpenter and plasterer and contributed to many of the commercial building enterprises in Far Northern Queensland. In 2001 I was crushed in a construction accident by a front-end loader which dropped its 500kg bucket on my head, fracturing my neck in three places. My hardhat certainly saved my life!
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It took three years for me to recover from this injury, and it was during this recovery period that I wrote "The Genesis Doctrine: A Futurism Novella. In 2005 I began an undergraduate degree in psychology at James Cook University and graduated with honors in 2010. I specialize in trauma and attachment, and addiction.
The early years...
I was born and spent much of my early life in New South Wales. Adopted at birth I had a loving family life until, at 8 years of age my father died by suicide. With limited financial resources my mother and sister settled in Liverpool in the South-Western suburbs of Sydney, a low socio-economic area rife with violence and substance abuse.
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By the time I got to my first year of high school, 13 years old, I had been involved in well over a dozen violent altercations with other youth and young people in the greater Liverpool area.
I truanted from school so often in year 7 I had to secretly re-enrole without my mother finding out.
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At 14 I stole three cars with some older boys and was involved in a high-speed police pursuit that ended in my arrest. As a result of this experience my family moved to Copacabana, a small beach community on the Central Coast of New South Wales.
The teenage years...
Moving to the Central Coast of N.S.W was a massive culture shock. The violent western suburb mentality was a world away from the cruisy nature of coast life at Copacabana.
Learning to surf and becoming an active member of the Surf Life Saving Club was a highlight of this period of my life as was transitioning from an all-boys high school to a coed high school!
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As the years past, I knew that opportunities while at home were limited. My mother worked fulltime, and the family could only barely afford to keep a single car. After a very poor academic performance in year 11, I applied to join the army.
Military life...
Back row, 5th from the left.
The military saved my life!
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The discipline and brotherhood I encountered became a solid foundation for my transition into adulthood. The day I went for my evaluation tests I broke down and cried during the psychological evaluation when the psychologist asked me about my father.
I recall becoming further upset, in that moment, that I had shown 'weakness' during the interview and exclaimed to the psychologist that I "had blown it!". The psychologist looked at me in the eye and said, "If you hadn't of cried, there is no way I would of approved you.".
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I was one of three, out of a pool of 45 applicants, who was offered membership that day!
Although I was no army brat, I excelled at the military, as illustrated by being sequestered into Military Intelligence (MI).
As an airborne unit, at the time, I had the battalion record for tree landings, an extremely dangerous landing situation because the branches your feet snap, as you pass through, become spears more than capable of impaling you!
I loved my time in the military but knew there was more the world had to offer, so after completing my contract I was honourably discharged from the ADF, and continued with my life.
Trades and construction...
I left Sydney and rode to Cairns. Once established I found transitioning into the construction industry easy after the military. It was a man's world and very much evolved around what you did on a tangible, practical level at the end of the day. Like the military, the practical skills I developed have endure over my lifetime.
In 2002 I was severely injured in a construction accident that crushed the C3, 4, and 5 vertebrae in my neck. It was during my recovery period that I wrote "The Genesis Doctrine: A Futurism Novella."
University and Mental Health
My first experience of psychology came during my time in MI where I was introduced to interrogation techniques.
Learning and practicing the healing elements of mental health at university and beyond have been life changing for me, and like the military, have made lifelong friends.
I specialize in trauma and attachment, men's health, and addiction.