Without Warning
One Woman’s Story of Surviving Black Saturday
Jane O’Connor

Without Warning is the true story of Jane O’Connor and her husband Sean, who moved to Kinglake, Victoria sixteen years ago.

This is one of the first real life stories to be published by a survivor caught up in the devastation of the fires and their experiences of that day and the past year, one year on.

I read it in one sitting; utterly compelling, I simply couldn't put it down.

On Saturday 7 February 2009 – one of the hottest summer days on record – Jane and her family listened to reports of fires sweeping through Kilmore and Wandong, just 50 kilometres to their west. As the clouds of smoke loomed closer, they realised it was heading straight for them. But it was too late to evacuate – they were trapped as the firestorm swept across the mountain, obliterating everything in its path.

Without Warning details the horrifying events of that fateful day, Black Saturday, as Jane and her family fought for their lives in the face of Australia’s worst natural disaster. It details how they survived the horrors of the day and the grim aftermath, living in a landscape of death before emergency crews could reach them. As a NZ reader totally unused to bushfires I was both rivetted and horrified by Jane O'Connor's story.

Lucky to be alive, they then had to grapple with the grief and destruction of their community, and find a way to survive the even longer journey of recovery.

Compelling, frank and highly moving, Without Warning is an inspirational story of learning to rebuild a life after a crisis. It details the emotional ups and downs, as well as the physical and emotional toll that Black Saturday left, and provides a guide to others on how to start a life again.

Included in the book is a photo section featuring images of the family and their community before, during and after the fires, and incredible photos of the O’Connor family’s new rebuilt home, made entirely from recycled and donated materials.

About the author:
Jane O’Connor has been a journalist, editor and communications specialist for more than 30 years, working for news agencies and major media organisations. She has also held senior positions in communications and media management in both the public and private sectors. Jane is currently a magazine editor with Hardie Grant Magazines. She and husband Sean have lived in Kinglake for 16 years.

Unsurprisingly she has been in great demand by various media this week and I have heard her being interviewed by Maggie Barry, Kathryn Ryan and others and I understand there will be an excerpt from her book in the Sunday Star Times this weekend.

The publishers have kindly agreed to my request to allow me to post the book's prologue on the blog, this will give you something of a feel for the book and the horrific experience it must have been for Jane and all involved.

I’m trying to follow the voice that is screaming my name, getting closer and closer now but still barely audible over the noise. I have no idea how long I’ve been trapped here in the study, watching the monstrous force outside devour everything in its path. It’s toppling massive trees, and flinging balls of burning gas like missiles; I can see the air burning.

Is it going to tear the roof off, blast out the windows? Or maybe it will barrel in under the verandah and set the house on fire? Is there any way I can get outside and onto some navigable, already burnt ground? Above all, I must try to keep breathing, despite the dense, acrid smoke. I’ve already watched the heat melt my car in the driveway. There’s no exit that way.

The voice breaks through the racket again: ‘Jane, Jane, where are you?’ It’s Sean. I yell back that I’m up the front of the house. ‘Get down to the back, I’m outside the laundry,’ I hear. How he can bear the heat out there, let alone breathe, I can’t imagine. I inch down the hallway—moving fast is too big an assault on my lungs and eyes, and I’m already feeling lightheaded from inhaling so much smoke. Every window I pass frames an unimaginable inferno.

I get to the kitchen and almost sink to my knees; it’s as if a pair of hands is crushing my lungs. The air is like liquid plastic, coating my mouth, nose and eyes. Keep breathing, just keep breathing, I tell myself, though overwhelmingly I feel I might black out at any moment. But I have to fight it, not give in; the back door is only metres away. I make it to the laundry door—I’m gasping, can’t see properly, but I’ve come this far, I’m not going to give up now.

Without Warning: One Woman’s Story of Surviving Black Saturday
by Jane O’Connor (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $32.99) has been released in New Zealand this week.
Read it, be inspired, and be thankful you have not had to endure bushfires.