Launched by Acting Seniors Minister Geoff Lee, Volume 6 of the short story collection offers a fascinating insight into the lives of older Australians, with this year’s theme ‘Resilience’.
In Sue’s story, ‘How Do You Tell Someone They Are Amazing?’, she describes a friend who has bounced back from many arduous situations and battled on against all odds.
“She has an inner strength that I admire greatly,” Sue wrote.
“My friend, who grew up in the area but has since moved away, has had a very complicated life but has come out the other side all through her rugged determination and positive attitude.”
Now spurred on to continue writing, Sue says she will be looking for other similar competitions to enter.
“Everybody has a story and when you get to your 70s as I am, you have a lifetime of stories which will no doubt inspire others,” she said.
In other stories featured in the volume, Ferdinand Brockhall, 91, describes his teenage years as a prisoner of war.
“For me, starving in the concentration camp was looking down into a pitch-black bottomless pit, an overwhelming endurance which blotted out even a flicker of hope,” said Mr Brockhall, who completed a PhD in education at the age of 81.
Seniors’ Stories Volume 6 is now available at all local libraries across NSW, or a copy can be downloaded at seniorscard.nsw.gov.au.
