Book
Swimming with Sharks is a fictional story about the everyday dangers of workplaces and households.
Lena sweeps into The Portal as its new Executive Director and is not impressed by what she finds; clients who think they should have a say, staff who agree with them, talk of partnership and ideas about power-sharing. None of these fit her vision and she must deal with them accordingly.
Ria, senior counsellor and team leader, is idealistic, committed, naïve, and an obstacle in the path of progress. She finds herself bombarded by demands, allegations, threats of dismissal and legal action. Faced with an unsympathetic bureaucracy, and grappling with echoes from childhood, she is supported by family, friends and her own convictions about social justice.
Swimming with Sharks is a story of survival that moves from the despair of failed hope to healing, forgiveness and regrowth. It is about one particular workplace and one particular household, but could be about any number of either.
Endorsements
This is a fantastic book for anyone who is being, or has been bullied at work.
Moira Rayner, lawyer and former Victorian Commissioner for Equal Opportunity
A riveting read, especially for those who have seen their workplaces turn into alien environments and are struggling to understand what is happening. This book takes us on a personal journey through workplace change; the highs, lows and survival.
Pamela Curr, human rights campaigner and advocate for asylum seekers
Ria’s story is an uncomfortable unfolding of a common story for women in the workplace. This does not make for easy reading or a light book at bedtime. But this is a book worth reading by all women who devote their lives to their work, often forgetting to stop and smell the roses.
June Kane AM, Advisor to UN agencies on labour exploitation and human trafficking
My favourite part of the book is the middle section. I can really identify with the family’s grief. Ria’s mother reminds me of many women I knew of her generation and faith.
Judy Small, political singer, songwriter, guitarist
Readers’ reviews
Swimming with Sharks is a fictional comment on the all-too-real dangers of rocking the boat in your workplace and trying to take on management head-to-head. It’s about the bottom line in this cutthroat modern world being money and not people. And it’s about people power and fighting back.
WendyO
Don’t let the title fool you. You might think it has something to do with actual sharks…in a way it does, but not the ones that swim in the sea. An entertaining read about relationships.
JohnM
A beautiful story of our journeys to be more human; I devoured it in two days, and hope many others will get a chance to read it.
JessM
A marvellous piece of writing, cleverly bringing together two painful parts of the main character’s life; yet it brings hope as well, and remarkable insights into the ability of people to survive and swim above the evil that exists.
JenR
Parts keep coming up weeks after reading it; always the sign of the power of a book. The structure is effective; the way the two stories reinforce each other and highlight the theme of ‘power over’. I like the recognition that there has to be an individual response to survive, but that it is structural power and also needs a collective response. It would have been easy for Ria to succumb to cynicism and hopelessness, but good for the story that she doesn’t. It’s pretty harrowing and the writing makes the emotion inescapable.
GaiM (1)
A really good read, very accomplished. Easy to keep turning the pages, relatable, and I wanted to find out what was happening to this character. Gave me the heebie-jeebies as well, though, all that management-speak and accountancy model and commodifying people. Reminded me of a place I have worked.
HeidiM
Couldn’t put it down; love the way the story and characters develop.
JoannaM
I really liked this book, and gave it to my sister who also liked it and found Ria a very sympathetic character.
MargC
I thought it was fantastic, and so did my partner. Riveting, courageous, strong, beautifully written, stories and emotions expressed so well. It has kept us talking long after we finished it. We both know a Lena or two so it had us captivated from the beginning. The link from past to present is brilliant; the childhood part evokes such strong emotion and the insight into the therapeutic process is brilliant.
MichD
I enjoyed the perspective, honest and courageous. Very engaging, and dealt with the emotions in an insightful and sensitive way. I had empathy for the Ria character, but it seems the people above her were mainly interested in protecting their own interests and egos. I particularly loved the middle section on childhood and the commentary on the unenlightened times and cruel way of raising children.
SteveD
The writing is great; the way the main characters are introduced, the pace, foreshadowing, expression of emotions, and movement between settings. I liked that Lena is a bit of a shadowy figure, lurking behind everything but we don’t really ‘know’ her, which to me is part of her power; like a nightmare figure that can’t quite be shaken but can wreak an enormous amount of fear and damage. It also becomes clear, very economically, how someone like her can get away with what is obviously outrageous behaviour.
GaiM (2)
