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Ripples from the Wave: After the 2004 Tsunami
On 26 December 2004, Australian ex-pat, Craig Baxter, drowned in the tsunami that engulfed Phi Phi Island, Thailand. He was one of some 270,000 souls over several continents who lost their lives that day in a matter of hours.
Craig’s Thai bride of nine months, Maliwan, was pregnant but miraculously survived. She still bears the physical and emotional scars of the worst natural disaster in recent history.
When Maliwan accepted her mother-in-law Sandra’s offer to help raise the child in Australia, life took a dramatic new direction for them both. The decade after the tsunami was a steep learning curve for the two women of different generations and cultures who shared no common language.
The story includes Sandra’s observations as a farang in three rites of passage in Thailand: her son’s traditional wedding, his funeral only nine months later, and the birth of his and Maliwan’s child.
The narrative is laced with humour, as misunderstandings lead to frustrations that are set aside in the interests of Demi, Australia’s littlest tsunami survivor.
Craig’s Thai bride of nine months, Maliwan, was pregnant but miraculously survived. She still bears the physical and emotional scars of the worst natural disaster in recent history.
When Maliwan accepted her mother-in-law Sandra’s offer to help raise the child in Australia, life took a dramatic new direction for them both. The decade after the tsunami was a steep learning curve for the two women of different generations and cultures who shared no common language.
The story includes Sandra’s observations as a farang in three rites of passage in Thailand: her son’s traditional wedding, his funeral only nine months later, and the birth of his and Maliwan’s child.
The narrative is laced with humour, as misunderstandings lead to frustrations that are set aside in the interests of Demi, Australia’s littlest tsunami survivor.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 5, 2018
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May 2, 2025
As a geography teacher, I have given many lessons about tsunamis and their impact on the communities they invade but this is the first time I've read a memoir by someone directly affected by one. The images from the tsunami that devastated so many areas around the Indian Ocean on 26th December 2004 have remained with me, unlike those of other disasters since. Reading this book brought many of them to the Surface of my mind once again.
The author's son, Craig, lived and worked in Thailand. He married a native Thai there and he and Wan were anticipating the birth of their first child when they made the decision to spend the festive season on Phi Phi Island, off Phuket. At that point the book becomes difficult to read. The author describes the wait for news, the search going on to locate the couple, the strain, the joy when Wan is found, the grief when Craig's body is identified. Writing this brings tears to my eyes once again. I can only imagine the pain at losing a child but to experience it for real must have been immeasurably worse.
After the funeral, the book becomes more upbeat as first Wan and Craig's daughter, Demi, is born and then Wan makes the decision to move to Australia with her. Even in Australia with support, life is hard for a relatively uneducated , unskilled immigrant but Wan thrives, becoming more than she would ever have been able to be had she remained in Thailand. Excellent reading.
The author's son, Craig, lived and worked in Thailand. He married a native Thai there and he and Wan were anticipating the birth of their first child when they made the decision to spend the festive season on Phi Phi Island, off Phuket. At that point the book becomes difficult to read. The author describes the wait for news, the search going on to locate the couple, the strain, the joy when Wan is found, the grief when Craig's body is identified. Writing this brings tears to my eyes once again. I can only imagine the pain at losing a child but to experience it for real must have been immeasurably worse.
After the funeral, the book becomes more upbeat as first Wan and Craig's daughter, Demi, is born and then Wan makes the decision to move to Australia with her. Even in Australia with support, life is hard for a relatively uneducated , unskilled immigrant but Wan thrives, becoming more than she would ever have been able to be had she remained in Thailand. Excellent reading.
Displaying 1 of 1 review