The Black Summer Fires – From the Inside, with farmer and author Janice Newnham

Psych for Life with Dr. Amanda Ferguson

In this episode, I’m joined by Janice Newnham. Janice is a veterinarian by profession but a farmer, wife, and mother by passion. She and her husband, Robert, operate an Angus cattle farm in a picturesque valley in Walwa, in the Upper Murray of Victoria, Australia. The Newnhams are also communityadvocates and volunteers. The Australian 2019/20 Black Summer Fires devastated the Upper Murray and the Newnham property. The turmoil triggered Janice to commit to writing, as a form of therapy, and she has since self-published two books: one on these fires, and another set in the aftermath of the1939 Black Friday fires, that she has an eerie connection with, and where the facts are stranger than fiction. Listen in to hear –- Janice calmly, yet vividly, describe the horrific and terrifying details of the fires from the beginning to end- How Janice and the other volunteers, then ordinary people, became extraordinary, performing incredibly courageous, life-threatening feats.- The ongoing fallout for Janice, her family, and the community- The innate difficulty of providing men in rural areas much-needed mental health support and guidance- Just how Janice hangs out in nature to heal – much to the curiosity of her cows. "From The Inside" is a raw and confronting reflection of the Newnham family’sexperience of the Black Summer Bush fires and "White Lies – Where There Is Smoke" is a novel based on a true story; a murder mystery set in 1939 in the aftermath of the Black Friday fires.