Left for Dead

Description

Samantha Barlow's life changed the day she was brutally attacked on the way to work in Sydney's notorious Kings Cross. The popular, confident young woman was left for dead, dragging herself to a lonely bus stop, desperate to stay alive for her two young children. The police who attended the crime scene didn't recognise their colleague. Inspector Laurence Barlow watched helplessly as his wife's life lay in the balance. He'd spent his career stopping violent offenders, but now found himself on the other side of a crisis. Samantha was a highly respected sergeant, but she could have been any woman - her attacker was a junkie after money. Her story touched people everywhere: her resilience, her indomitable spirit and her triumphant return to work after 22 months of rehab is an inspiration to all Australians. This is a brave family's journey to recovery.

Sue Williams was born in Sydney, Australia, and is the author of the best selling picture-books I Went Walking and Let's Go Visiting, illustrated by Julie Vivas. In 1981 she co-founded the children's book company, Omnibus Books, which published some of Australia's quintessential picture books, including One Woolly Wombat, Possum Magic, The Nativity and Wombat Divine. In 1997 she left Omnibus Books to co-found Working Title Press. For the next four years Sue worked on several publications, including the popular Working Title Press Dreaming Narrative series as assistant editor to Christine Nicholls and as co-author (with business partner Jane Covernton) of the Working Title Press picture book Dinnertime under the pseudonym Ann Weld. She retired from the Press in 2001 to pursue an academic career.