{"id":305994,"date":"2021-09-17T20:50:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T10:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=305994"},"modified":"2021-09-17T22:47:17","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T12:47:17","slug":"life-journey-explored-after-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2021\/09\/17\/life-journey-explored-after-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Journey Explored After Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kilkivan author Amelia Olsen with her debut book, “Dirt And Dust” (Photo: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 17, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kilkivan author Amelia Olsen has bared her soul in her first work,\u00a0“Dirt And Dust”, a true story of loss and journey peppered with humour.<\/p>\n

The book tackles the confronting subject of suicide through the eyes of Amelia’s 18-year-old son Riley.<\/p>\n

Riley and Amelia embarked on a 1400km motorbike ride from Cairns to Cape York after her husband died in 2015.<\/p>\n

The trip was originally planned to be between Riley and his dad before the family tragedy struck.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Riley asked his Amelia to complete the ride with him … so she had to learn to ride a motorbike!<\/p>\n

“Dirt And Dust” captures the physical challenges of the ride as well as the emotional journey of comprehending loss.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amelia said she had done her best to make a tough topic easy to read.<\/p>\n

Her book explores the issues surrounding suicide – the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44.<\/p>\n

It has been estimated that every year more than 65,000 Australians attempt suicide.<\/p>\n

Amelia said all the issues in her book were real and true.<\/p>\n

“There are things that have touched us,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Dirt And Dust” can be bought from Amazon, Booktopia and other online stores.<\/p>\n

Amelia has\u00a0been invited to discuss “Dirt And Dust” at an upcoming author’s talk at Kingaroy Library.<\/p>\n