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Waiting for Elijah
In 2009, in the NSW country town of Armidale, a mentally ill young man is shot dead by a police officer. Senior Constable Andrew Rich claims he ‘had no choice’ other than to shoot 24-year-old Elijah Holcombe — Elijah had run at him roaring with a knife, he tells police.
Some witnesses to the shooting say otherwise, though, and this act of aggression doesn't fit with the sweet, sensitive, but troubled young man that Elijah's family and friends knew him to be. The shooting devastates Elijah's family and the police officer alike.
So what happened in that Armidale laneway — and how could it have been avoided? Waiting for Elijah is the culmination of journalist Kate Wild's six-year investigation — an investigation that not only seeks to answer these questions, but also poses some vitally important ones of its own: Why is it still taboo to talk about mental illness in our society? Is it fair to expect police to be first responders in mental health crises? If the community insists this job belongs to police, how can these interactions be improved?
Written with clear-eyed compassion and a compelling narrative drive, Waiting for Elijah is an account of a tragedy that didn’t have to happen. It is also an intense, forensic deconstruction of the extended legal proceedings that followed, and a heartbreaking portrait of a family’s grief.
Some witnesses to the shooting say otherwise, though, and this act of aggression doesn't fit with the sweet, sensitive, but troubled young man that Elijah's family and friends knew him to be. The shooting devastates Elijah's family and the police officer alike.
So what happened in that Armidale laneway — and how could it have been avoided? Waiting for Elijah is the culmination of journalist Kate Wild's six-year investigation — an investigation that not only seeks to answer these questions, but also poses some vitally important ones of its own: Why is it still taboo to talk about mental illness in our society? Is it fair to expect police to be first responders in mental health crises? If the community insists this job belongs to police, how can these interactions be improved?
Written with clear-eyed compassion and a compelling narrative drive, Waiting for Elijah is an account of a tragedy that didn’t have to happen. It is also an intense, forensic deconstruction of the extended legal proceedings that followed, and a heartbreaking portrait of a family’s grief.
400 pages, Paperback
Published May 28, 2018
6 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 22, 2018
Wild follows the proceedings against Rich as they swing like a gut-wrenching pendulum; he won't give evidence then he must then there's an appeal and then a civil matter, and it goes on. At the heart of this story is Wild's own grappling around who to sympathise with. The Holcombe family open up to her, compromising the distance-from-the-matter she would normally maintain as an experienced ABC reporter. Wild has her own history with mental illness to enrich her understanding of the situation too. The reader wonders "who will win" the lawyers' battles in court, all the while being mournfully aware of everything important already having been lost. I am gripped by this question now: how can the police better handle members of the public with mental health problems? What's happening right now isn't working.
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November 19, 2018Kate Wild's Waiting for Elijah is brave, balanced, and profound; wrestling with the fatal police shooting of a young mentally ill man, Wild reveals a compelling investigation into mental illness and the police on the frontline of psychosis. A beautiful writer, Wild's Waiting for Elijah is a thrilling debut.
Anna Krien
[Waiting for Elijah] will appeal to readers of Helen Garner and Chloe Hooper … [Wild] explores her subject with great depth, compassion, and sensitivity … Essential reading.
Books+Publishing
At its simplest, Waiting for Elijah is an exploration of the devastating effects of a police force ill-equipped to deal with mental illness. Wild’s personal story, though, brings a depth to her investigation, and she doesn’t grab for any easy take-home messages. Instead, she probes the complexities of the issue, and reaches finally for a kind of forgiveness – for the policeman who shot Elijah, but also, perhaps, for herself.
Adelaide Advertiser
It combines her professional virtues with something viscerally personal and holds the two aspects in tension throughout. The result is taut and episodic.
Weekend Australian
The real achievement of the book is Wild’s lyrical flair, a rare trait in a news journalist. Wild describes her mental illness as an agony that ‘would fall like a piano from the sky, unannounced and crushing’.
Australian Book Review
At its simplest, Waiting for Elijah is an exploration of the devastating effects of a police force ill-equipped to deal with mental illness. Wild’s personal story, though, brings a depth to her investigation, and she doesn’t grab for easy take-home messages. Instead, she probes the issue and arrives at a kind of forgiveness – for the policeman who shot Elijah, but also, perhaps, for herself.
Courier Mail
This book is many things, it’s a tense crime thriller, unravelling the story of a young man’s death and subsequent investigation of the events. It‘s a superb piece of reportage, bringing Kate’s 4 Corners rigour to a profound social ill — the fraught interaction between policing and mental illness. It’s a novel of place evoking the interiors of court rooms, the landscapes of country NSW and the author’s former home in Darwin. And then as if you haven’t got enough for your money and decision to read Waiting for Elijah it springs another surprise, raw and moving elements of the author’s personal story interlaced with the other characters.
Sarah Ferguson’s Launch Speech
On the surface Waiting for Elijah is an investigation into the shooting of a mentally ill young man, but author Kate Wild also raises important questions about the adequacy of police training and the detrimental effects of mental illness on society … Her investigation of the case is comprehensive and she is fair and balanced in her criticism of the NSW Police Force despite Rich’s refusal to give evidence at the inquest on the grounds that it might prove he had committed an offence.
Sydney Morning Herald
Waiting for Elijah blends both Wild’s professional values and personal experiences, and ties them into an overarching analysis of how medical and legal systems can fail some of society’s most vulnerable … Wild’s book doesn’t jump to any conclusions; instead, she invites audiences to look a little deeper.
Sunday Territorian
In this thought-provoking, beautiful and devastating piece of journalism, Kate Wild follows the court case and asks: how can we stop this from happening again?
Readings ‘Best Crime of 2018’
Anna Krien
[Waiting for Elijah] will appeal to readers of Helen Garner and Chloe Hooper … [Wild] explores her subject with great depth, compassion, and sensitivity … Essential reading.
Books+Publishing
At its simplest, Waiting for Elijah is an exploration of the devastating effects of a police force ill-equipped to deal with mental illness. Wild’s personal story, though, brings a depth to her investigation, and she doesn’t grab for any easy take-home messages. Instead, she probes the complexities of the issue, and reaches finally for a kind of forgiveness – for the policeman who shot Elijah, but also, perhaps, for herself.
Adelaide Advertiser
It combines her professional virtues with something viscerally personal and holds the two aspects in tension throughout. The result is taut and episodic.
Weekend Australian
The real achievement of the book is Wild’s lyrical flair, a rare trait in a news journalist. Wild describes her mental illness as an agony that ‘would fall like a piano from the sky, unannounced and crushing’.
Australian Book Review
At its simplest, Waiting for Elijah is an exploration of the devastating effects of a police force ill-equipped to deal with mental illness. Wild’s personal story, though, brings a depth to her investigation, and she doesn’t grab for easy take-home messages. Instead, she probes the issue and arrives at a kind of forgiveness – for the policeman who shot Elijah, but also, perhaps, for herself.
Courier Mail
This book is many things, it’s a tense crime thriller, unravelling the story of a young man’s death and subsequent investigation of the events. It‘s a superb piece of reportage, bringing Kate’s 4 Corners rigour to a profound social ill — the fraught interaction between policing and mental illness. It’s a novel of place evoking the interiors of court rooms, the landscapes of country NSW and the author’s former home in Darwin. And then as if you haven’t got enough for your money and decision to read Waiting for Elijah it springs another surprise, raw and moving elements of the author’s personal story interlaced with the other characters.
Sarah Ferguson’s Launch Speech
On the surface Waiting for Elijah is an investigation into the shooting of a mentally ill young man, but author Kate Wild also raises important questions about the adequacy of police training and the detrimental effects of mental illness on society … Her investigation of the case is comprehensive and she is fair and balanced in her criticism of the NSW Police Force despite Rich’s refusal to give evidence at the inquest on the grounds that it might prove he had committed an offence.
Sydney Morning Herald
Waiting for Elijah blends both Wild’s professional values and personal experiences, and ties them into an overarching analysis of how medical and legal systems can fail some of society’s most vulnerable … Wild’s book doesn’t jump to any conclusions; instead, she invites audiences to look a little deeper.
Sunday Territorian
In this thought-provoking, beautiful and devastating piece of journalism, Kate Wild follows the court case and asks: how can we stop this from happening again?
Readings ‘Best Crime of 2018’
July 1, 2018
A thought provoking, raw, reflection on our society’s relationship to mental illness. The book centers around the shooting of mentally ill man Elijah Holcombe, by Senior Constable Andrew Rich. Wild captures the heartache, grief and generosity of the Holcombe family whilst also pointing to the impossible expectations we sometimes ask of the police. A beautiful, moving, book that I could not put down.
March 23, 2018
A truly heartbreaking read about police shooting the mentally ill and the nature of justice. Three instead of four stars from me as I wished Kate got stuck into the subject matter a little more in a Garneresque way and the book ultimately was a little unsatisfying as she doesn’t really reach any conclusions nor is she able to speak with the police officer who shot Elijah, something she attempts for half the book. There was some repetition of quotes and ideas which I would have liked kept tighter. Kate’s exploration of her own mental health throughout the book was a real highlight though. Narrative non-fiction readers will enjoy this but I was hoping for a little more.
September 5, 2020
It’s hard to rate a book when there are no answers given- even harder when it feels like only half the story has been told. This book must have been a really difficult one to write, and the author reveals more of herself than perhaps one would expect. This adds a really necessary human dimension to a story that would otherwise read like a newspaper report, and I feel like there was a bit of a disconnect with the subject of the material and the author herself.
The hardest thing with this book is that there’s no resolution, and it’s a difficult case to tie up. It feels like there’s no justice achieved- which didn’t affect my rating, but I did want to see a lot more of a discussion about the police culture surrounding the shooting of mentally ill individuals in self defence.
The hardest thing with this book is that there’s no resolution, and it’s a difficult case to tie up. It feels like there’s no justice achieved- which didn’t affect my rating, but I did want to see a lot more of a discussion about the police culture surrounding the shooting of mentally ill individuals in self defence.
September 14, 2018
A thoughtful, nuanced and detailed account of genuinely tragic events, interwoven with raw and courageous personal reflections on the author’s own encounters with mental health and life in rural Australia.
One of those works of non-fiction that makes you grateful for authors who are prepared to follow long stories, and publishers who support them.
One of those works of non-fiction that makes you grateful for authors who are prepared to follow long stories, and publishers who support them.
December 25, 2018
I am up to page 171 and I am thinking: what more needs to be said about this issue? The whole episode was a tragic screw-up by the police. The system simply doesn’t handle people with mental health problems very well. This terrible killing is definitely worthy of a book, but not 380 pages worth! And I really think that is was a mistake for the author to bring her own mental health issues into the story. She wasn’t chased or killed by the police, I really think it was used to fatten the book out and it is not necessary. I am skimming the rest of the book, because as far as I can tell, everything that needs to be said and exposed about this police fuck has, has been said.
December 21, 2020
This was a harrowing book about the true story of the shooting of a mentally ill man in Armidale by a police officer.It also follows the mental turmoil suffered by the author which intertwines throughout. The ending is empathetic to all parties concerned.
It’s a detailed read of the legal system and the roles played out by the coroners court and the amount of time and work involved to eventually gain some justice for the victim. Definitely not a lighthearted read but an interesting insight into how over a period of eleven years a truly unforgivable event can end in some improvements in the training of police officers.
It’s a detailed read of the legal system and the roles played out by the coroners court and the amount of time and work involved to eventually gain some justice for the victim. Definitely not a lighthearted read but an interesting insight into how over a period of eleven years a truly unforgivable event can end in some improvements in the training of police officers.
November 4, 2018
Fascinating territory to cover, but I felt this book lacked something. Repetitious in parts, I drifted off in others, and by the end I was just waiting for it to wind up. I don't dispute the quality of research or commitment to the story, but it could have done with a tighter edit
September 3, 2018
Without a doubt one of the most confronting books I have read this year. The main thread that I pulled from this book is that there is a need to teach compassionate responses to mental health. In a society that has strayed so far away from looking out for those in most need, we need to make an adjustment to the way mental health services are funded and supported.
Wild reminds us that there are families for each and every person who are shot dead, families who have had to live with a system that fails those who are most in need and the police who are on the frontlines of the mental health crisis facing our world.
Wild reminds us that there are families for each and every person who are shot dead, families who have had to live with a system that fails those who are most in need and the police who are on the frontlines of the mental health crisis facing our world.
June 29, 2025
This is a gripping non-fiction which centres around the death by police shooting of Elijah. The author has done a masterful job of creating a compelling narrative that follows the incident and its aftermath. There is a lot of exploration of systems, processes and perceptions of mental health. She gives an in-depth critical review of the law and police actions. I struggled a bit with the depiction of the police as it felt very sympathetic and also I couldn't help but think of the indigenous experience of this as being quite different or much more problematic - I wish that was focussed on a bit more. But that aside, it was a really good depiction and exploration of mental health services intersecting with police. I liked her personal voice too and what she weaved into it that was linked to her own story.
December 11, 2018
I have just about finished this & honestly I am getting a little bogged down by the court proceedings. I don't think it needs several blow by blow accounts of basically the same questions answered the same way & I don't think she will ever get to speak to Rich. It's shocking that police officers are frontline workers in mental health crisis & I have experienced this myself, how can it not be a stigma when the police take you to hospital, sometimes willingly but you still get put in the paddy wagon. I do think Kate could have delved in a little more, it is not a great crime book, just a good one but in the eyes of the law, no crime was committed at all & that is a huge tragedy. A young man just shouldn't be shot in the street for holding a bread knife.
February 9, 2022
A huge amount of time and research has gone into this book about a young man’s death at the hands of police in NSW. It’s also very much about the grief of the family, the slow and confusing nature of the court process and the vexed issue of treatment for people with mental illness in Australia.
September 14, 2018
Very thought provoking and engaging read.
October 10, 2018
Such a beautiful, emotive piece book. Thank you for writing about a wonderful life taken too soon, and the serious mental health crisis we are facing in Australia.
October 18, 2018
Brilliant book. Read it.
February 3, 2020
Absolutely riveting.
April 26, 2019
Beautifully observed, deeply researched and considered, but far too long. I grew bored through the numerous detailed recounts of court scenes and felt it could have been much tighter overall. All in all, it’s a powerful and necessary examination of the way in which our justice system struggles to deal with mentally ill individuals and the unimaginable burden we place on police officers to handle what no one else can.
January 4, 2019
A police investigation can seem like an interminably slow process and on no one does the passage of that time weigh more heavily than on those mourning the loss of a loved one. It’s a process not guaranteed a satisfactory result after years of waiting, and in the meantime, lives must be picked up with again and continued on with as best they can be.
Elijah Holcombe was a young married man in his mid-twenties who was blessed with both a loving family and friends who adored him. His life and future from the outside may have looked bright however Elijah was troubled by mental health issues. The world did not always present to Elijah as a safe and easily navigated place.
The series of happenings that put Elijah in the path of a policeman’s bullet are forensically examined here with great care in a book that spans the years and years of yes, waiting. Considering how long the process took to come to conclusion, the writing of this novel was very much a lived experience for debut author Kate Wild. This is not a clinical reporting of events as the author is very much part of the narrative.
WAITING FOR ELIJAH came across my radar after catching a podcast interview with author Kate Wild. This book of non-fiction is difficult to pigeonhole neatly. What it does so well is to detail all the repeated mis-steps, heartache, secondary trauma and frustrations that needed to be dealt with after the death of Elijah. WAITING FOR ELIJAH is a respectful and meticulously put together account of the enormity of a single loss. Not the first loss to have occurred in such a way, and no doubt will not be the last to occur in this way either. How a family and a community navigates what seems so tragic and senseless is the focus of Wild’s moving work, with all of what that practically entails when mental illness dictates a person’s response, as does the learned behaviours of a person’s profession.
Elijah Holcombe was a young married man in his mid-twenties who was blessed with both a loving family and friends who adored him. His life and future from the outside may have looked bright however Elijah was troubled by mental health issues. The world did not always present to Elijah as a safe and easily navigated place.
The series of happenings that put Elijah in the path of a policeman’s bullet are forensically examined here with great care in a book that spans the years and years of yes, waiting. Considering how long the process took to come to conclusion, the writing of this novel was very much a lived experience for debut author Kate Wild. This is not a clinical reporting of events as the author is very much part of the narrative.
WAITING FOR ELIJAH came across my radar after catching a podcast interview with author Kate Wild. This book of non-fiction is difficult to pigeonhole neatly. What it does so well is to detail all the repeated mis-steps, heartache, secondary trauma and frustrations that needed to be dealt with after the death of Elijah. WAITING FOR ELIJAH is a respectful and meticulously put together account of the enormity of a single loss. Not the first loss to have occurred in such a way, and no doubt will not be the last to occur in this way either. How a family and a community navigates what seems so tragic and senseless is the focus of Wild’s moving work, with all of what that practically entails when mental illness dictates a person’s response, as does the learned behaviours of a person’s profession.
May 5, 2020
An expertly compiled and well written true story of a young man with a mental illness who is shot dead by a police officer in such circumstances as to warrant further investigation. Journalist Kate Wild covered every angle and every aspect of Elijah Holcombe's death, digging deeper, searching further, questioning longer until her research culminated in a 400 page book of heart-wrenching details from all sides except that of Senior Constable Andrew Rich. Unfortunately, no true resolution is formed, not from the police, legal system or medical experts. It wasn't until the last chapter that I saw Elijah's photograph which further saddened me. His family still grieves, the world still turns, what has really changed? I found this book confronting both in context and sheer volume and to quote Mary Jerram "...where I saw emotion at its most raw, I learned you can't always find the truth" and this is really what Kate Wild has shown us.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews