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The Family Doctor
A novel of searing emotional truth, told with the relentless pull of a thriller, from the award-winning creator of Offspring.'The Family Doctor is a compelling thriller - fast-paced, gripping and frightening. But is more than that because it is a story that draws desperately needed attention to domestic abuse in this country, to institutional indifference, to the devaluing of women's lives. The Family Doctor is a cry for change.' Sofie Laguna, Miles Franklin Award-winning author of The Eye of the Sheep and Infinite Splendours'Brilliant. So compelling on so many levels.' Chris Hammer, author of Scrublands'Debra Oswald is always deft at capturing the nuances of female friendship and romantic attraction, but this time she brings them to a pitch of pulse-racing intensity. Delving into the dark world of domestic violence and society's abject failure to protect those most vulnerable, she has produced a gripping thriller, brimming with heart and intellect.' Geraldine Brooks, author of The Secret ChordPaula is a dedicated suburban GP, who is devastated by the murder of a friend and her children by their estranged husband and father. Stacey and the children had been staying with her after fleeing his control, and Paula is haunted by the thought that she couldn't protect them when they most needed it. How had she missed the warning signs? How had she failed to keep them safe?Not long after, a patient with suspicious injuries brings her anxious young son into Paula's surgery. The woman admits that her husband hurts her, but she's terrified to leave for fear of escalating the violence, and defeated by the consistent failures of the law to help her.Can Paula go against everything she believes to make sure one woman is saved, one child spared? She isn't motivated by revenge. She's desperately trying to prevent a tragedy . . .A riveting, provocative novel about women's fury, traumatic grief, new love, deep friendship, and the preciousness of life, The Family Doctor asks the Should you cling to faith in a flawed system, or take control the only way you can? Can a good person justify taking a life to save a life?'Mesmerising and heart-breaking. A perfect story for this moment in time.' Sarah Bailey, author of Where the Dead Go'The Family Doctor brings urgent news, taking the reader into suburban battlegrounds kept private by the threat and actuality of violence. In crystal-clear prose, Debra Oswald unveils an all-too-believable world of love and loyalty stretched to the limit, with agonising consequences when the best people are forced to do the worst things. When is it justified to fight fire with fire? The moment you finish this novel you will want to find someone else who has read it and talk all night about the vital questions it raises.' Malcolm Knox, author of Bluebird
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2021
128 people are currently reading
2445 people want to read
About the author
Debra Oswald
33 books110 followersDebra Oswald is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist. She is a two-time winner of the NSW Premier's Literary Award and author of the novels Useful (2015), The Whole Bright Year (2018) and The Family Doctor (2021). She was creator/head writer of the first five seasons of the successful TV series Offspring.
Her stage plays have been performed around the world and published by Currency Press. Gary's House, Sweet Road and The Peach Season were all shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literary Award. Debra has also written four plays for young audiences—Dags, Skate, Stories in the Dark and House on Fire. She has written three Aussie Bites books and six children's novels, including The Redback Leftovers.
Her television credits include award-winning episodes of Police Rescue, Palace of Dreams, The Secret Life of Us, Sweet and Sour and Bananas in Pyjamas.
Debra performed her one-woman show Is There Something Wrong With That Lady? at the Griffin Theatre in 2021 and a month-long season at the Ensemble in 2023.
Her stage plays have been performed around the world and published by Currency Press. Gary's House, Sweet Road and The Peach Season were all shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literary Award. Debra has also written four plays for young audiences—Dags, Skate, Stories in the Dark and House on Fire. She has written three Aussie Bites books and six children's novels, including The Redback Leftovers.
Her television credits include award-winning episodes of Police Rescue, Palace of Dreams, The Secret Life of Us, Sweet and Sour and Bananas in Pyjamas.
Debra performed her one-woman show Is There Something Wrong With That Lady? at the Griffin Theatre in 2021 and a month-long season at the Ensemble in 2023.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 300 reviews
August 24, 2021
Debra Oswald’s new book highlights the inability of our society to adequately deal with domestic violence and its toll on women and children. Many women are too scared of their abusive partner and what they might do to their children, to go to the police. Apprehended violence orders are all too often ignored by the abusive partner, and women who are brave enough to run away and hide are often still not safe if found or stalked by their partner. Health workers and teachers are often at the front line of domestic abuse, seeing the results of men’s aggressive behaviour on women and children but powerless to do much to stop it continuing.
In the novel, Paula is a family GP who has taken in one of her best friends, Stacey and her two children, after she left her violent and abusive husband Matt. Recently widowed and childless, she enjoys sharing her home with the family. However, one day she returns home from work to find that Matt has killed Stacey and both the children. Severely traumatised she goes to stay with her friend Anita, the third member of their close-knit group who have been friends since high school. They are both distraught that they and the law were unable to do anything to keep Stacey and the children safe from Matt, who was so clearly a danger to them.
Grieving and still traumatised at her friend’s murder, Paula returns to work but it’s difficult for her to see patients who are clearly victims of domestic abuse. Anita, a reporter also keeps her up to date with a domestic abuse trial she is attending where a man has been accused of murdering his partner. Paula then finds herself faced with an agonising situation where her actions could save an abused woman and her son. What happens next will surprise and shock you, but may also have you silently cheering for Paula.
This novel would make a great book club selection as there so many important issues to discuss. It’s not only makes for a very gripping read, but also a heartbreaking tale, that needs to be addressed as domestic violence continues to lead to women and children being murdered with a sickening regularity. Kudos to Debra Oswald for highlighting this serious social issue in a sensitive and compelling way.
In the novel, Paula is a family GP who has taken in one of her best friends, Stacey and her two children, after she left her violent and abusive husband Matt. Recently widowed and childless, she enjoys sharing her home with the family. However, one day she returns home from work to find that Matt has killed Stacey and both the children. Severely traumatised she goes to stay with her friend Anita, the third member of their close-knit group who have been friends since high school. They are both distraught that they and the law were unable to do anything to keep Stacey and the children safe from Matt, who was so clearly a danger to them.
Grieving and still traumatised at her friend’s murder, Paula returns to work but it’s difficult for her to see patients who are clearly victims of domestic abuse. Anita, a reporter also keeps her up to date with a domestic abuse trial she is attending where a man has been accused of murdering his partner. Paula then finds herself faced with an agonising situation where her actions could save an abused woman and her son. What happens next will surprise and shock you, but may also have you silently cheering for Paula.
This novel would make a great book club selection as there so many important issues to discuss. It’s not only makes for a very gripping read, but also a heartbreaking tale, that needs to be addressed as domestic violence continues to lead to women and children being murdered with a sickening regularity. Kudos to Debra Oswald for highlighting this serious social issue in a sensitive and compelling way.
February 25, 2021
The Family Doctor is shocking and surprising read. It is thought provoking and intense and very hard to put down. The opening is brutal and the characters are broken and real. There is alot more to this story than you expect and I really enjoyed it.
Paula is devastated when one of her best friends and her children are murdered by her estranged husband in her home. She had opened her house to keep them safe and she feels as if she has let Stacey down. She was trying to protect them all, she is a doctor and wants to help everyone. Soon after she has a patient who is obviously scared of her husband and shows all the signs of abuse. The system is letting these women down and Paula is tired of it.
You won't believe where this one takes you!!
Thanks to Allen and Unwin for my advanced copy of this book to read.
Paula is devastated when one of her best friends and her children are murdered by her estranged husband in her home. She had opened her house to keep them safe and she feels as if she has let Stacey down. She was trying to protect them all, she is a doctor and wants to help everyone. Soon after she has a patient who is obviously scared of her husband and shows all the signs of abuse. The system is letting these women down and Paula is tired of it.
You won't believe where this one takes you!!
Thanks to Allen and Unwin for my advanced copy of this book to read.
March 27, 2021
4.5★
“it would be wrong to use her knowledge of the situation and her skills to intervene.
It would be wrong, given her knowledge of the danger this woman faced, not to use her skills to intervene.”
So what then? A roll of the dice? Or is this something that is not really the ‘role’ of the dice so much as the role of her conscience as a family GP?
The advance publicity for the book tells us that Paula is grieving for the loss of one of her dearest friends to domestic violence and murder. (I probably don’t need to add a trigger warning here if you've already come this far, but do be aware there are a lot of triggers in this story.)
Paula, Stacey and Anita were a close-knit trio of pals since childhood, and losing one of them to a vicious, violent husband is unspeakably awful. What’s more, Stacey and her kids were living with Paula at the time to escape him, and Paula is the one who discovered the murders.
She lives alone but is so close to Anita and has such a busy professional life that her days are pretty full. But this – this trauma, this grief – is overwhelming for them both. They keep wondering about the what-ifs and if-onlys and maybes. Could they have done something to prevent it? If so, what?
Anita is as distraught as Paula but has a big family who send her all kinds of Chilean comfort food to help console her. She has a support system, she didn’t witness the event, and she’s open to a relationship that comes her way in these unusual circumstances. She keeps that to herself as she and Paula try to lose themselves in wine and movies when they're together.
When Paula later treats a young patient for tonsillitis and notices his mother’s neck scarf is hiding obvious signs of abuse, her internal trigger alarms start clanging. She’s no longer able to step back and distance herself from her patients’ private lives. She invites the little boy to play with the toys in the waiting room play area while she talks privately to mum for minute.
“‘Can you tell me what happened?’ Paula asked. ‘Who did this?’
Rochelle answered with surprising bluntness. ‘My husband. But it’s the first time in a while.’ This woman was a veteran.
Taking her cue from Rochelle, Paula jumped straight to the direct questions. ‘Did you black out when he strangled you? Did you lose consciousness?’
‘Not this time. He said he didn’t want to actually kill me this time.’
‘But he wanted to demonstrate that he could kill you if he chose to?’
‘Bingo,’ Rochelle answered, with a small mordant smile. ‘You’ve met my husband, have you?’”
Paula’s trigger wasn’t a false alarm, it was justified. She knows the husband is a good couple of decades older and has a heart condition, so she hopes that will finish him before he destroys his wife and son. Of course, that could take another couple of decades, and meanwhile, she’s haunted by memories of Stacey and her kids.
Has she met him? Well, no, but when she does happen to meet him by chance, her doctor’s instincts kick in while her human instincts are saying she wouldn’t pee on this guy if he were on fire.
I had a friend who was part of the ski patrol at a resort, the advantage being that they didn’t have to wait to get a run down the mountain – they were always first. The disadvantage, he said was that as he was getting started on a wonderful clear run, he would spot someone in strife in his peripheral vision and be tempted to pretend he didn’t notice.
But he was good guy and a responsible one. He stopped and helped.
Paula? What will the good family doctor do?
It is clear how differently the two women process the loss of their best friend and her family. While Anita is sad and appalled, she is finding another side of her life opening up.
Meanwhile, flashbacks and insomnia are narrowing Paula’s life down to a darkness and despair that even medication can’t seem to cure. Doctors help people, and she feels helpless.
I’ve not suffered this kind of trauma and have no idea how I’d react or what it’s like to be triggered, other than to have certain smells or music evoke instant recall of memories. But even that recall is enough to make me realise how unbelievably disturbing it must be to suffer from PTSD or shell-shock. I’m not sure there’s a strong enough word for it.
But the word for the story is terrific! It’s a great read and a perfect choice for bookclubs. Thanks to Allen and Unwin for the preview copy for review. It's a winner!
“it would be wrong to use her knowledge of the situation and her skills to intervene.
It would be wrong, given her knowledge of the danger this woman faced, not to use her skills to intervene.”
So what then? A roll of the dice? Or is this something that is not really the ‘role’ of the dice so much as the role of her conscience as a family GP?
The advance publicity for the book tells us that Paula is grieving for the loss of one of her dearest friends to domestic violence and murder. (I probably don’t need to add a trigger warning here if you've already come this far, but do be aware there are a lot of triggers in this story.)
Paula, Stacey and Anita were a close-knit trio of pals since childhood, and losing one of them to a vicious, violent husband is unspeakably awful. What’s more, Stacey and her kids were living with Paula at the time to escape him, and Paula is the one who discovered the murders.
She lives alone but is so close to Anita and has such a busy professional life that her days are pretty full. But this – this trauma, this grief – is overwhelming for them both. They keep wondering about the what-ifs and if-onlys and maybes. Could they have done something to prevent it? If so, what?
Anita is as distraught as Paula but has a big family who send her all kinds of Chilean comfort food to help console her. She has a support system, she didn’t witness the event, and she’s open to a relationship that comes her way in these unusual circumstances. She keeps that to herself as she and Paula try to lose themselves in wine and movies when they're together.
When Paula later treats a young patient for tonsillitis and notices his mother’s neck scarf is hiding obvious signs of abuse, her internal trigger alarms start clanging. She’s no longer able to step back and distance herself from her patients’ private lives. She invites the little boy to play with the toys in the waiting room play area while she talks privately to mum for minute.
“‘Can you tell me what happened?’ Paula asked. ‘Who did this?’
Rochelle answered with surprising bluntness. ‘My husband. But it’s the first time in a while.’ This woman was a veteran.
Taking her cue from Rochelle, Paula jumped straight to the direct questions. ‘Did you black out when he strangled you? Did you lose consciousness?’
‘Not this time. He said he didn’t want to actually kill me this time.’
‘But he wanted to demonstrate that he could kill you if he chose to?’
‘Bingo,’ Rochelle answered, with a small mordant smile. ‘You’ve met my husband, have you?’”
Paula’s trigger wasn’t a false alarm, it was justified. She knows the husband is a good couple of decades older and has a heart condition, so she hopes that will finish him before he destroys his wife and son. Of course, that could take another couple of decades, and meanwhile, she’s haunted by memories of Stacey and her kids.
Has she met him? Well, no, but when she does happen to meet him by chance, her doctor’s instincts kick in while her human instincts are saying she wouldn’t pee on this guy if he were on fire.
I had a friend who was part of the ski patrol at a resort, the advantage being that they didn’t have to wait to get a run down the mountain – they were always first. The disadvantage, he said was that as he was getting started on a wonderful clear run, he would spot someone in strife in his peripheral vision and be tempted to pretend he didn’t notice.
But he was good guy and a responsible one. He stopped and helped.
Paula? What will the good family doctor do?
It is clear how differently the two women process the loss of their best friend and her family. While Anita is sad and appalled, she is finding another side of her life opening up.
Meanwhile, flashbacks and insomnia are narrowing Paula’s life down to a darkness and despair that even medication can’t seem to cure. Doctors help people, and she feels helpless.
I’ve not suffered this kind of trauma and have no idea how I’d react or what it’s like to be triggered, other than to have certain smells or music evoke instant recall of memories. But even that recall is enough to make me realise how unbelievably disturbing it must be to suffer from PTSD or shell-shock. I’m not sure there’s a strong enough word for it.
But the word for the story is terrific! It’s a great read and a perfect choice for bookclubs. Thanks to Allen and Unwin for the preview copy for review. It's a winner!
July 12, 2023
Another excellent read on a very serious topic. Thoughts of The Mother filled my mind, as this was quite similar in theme. Serious but important.
An Australian author who wrote for one of the shows my kids watched as youngsters, Bananas In Pyjamas I was pleased to read her for the first time. I believe Australia is full of skilled writers and Debra Oswald is one of them.
It was very full of the one topic, very content heavy with domestic and family violence, so if this is an issue for you as a reader, it would be advised that this one may be too much to bear.
Paula, a dedicated and smart GP in suburban Sydney has seen things she should have not. Having lost her husband to cancer she is already suffering. Part of a trio of extemely close girlfriends, she opens her home to the one who is abused by her husband, emotionally, physically and financially. She then witnesses this family's death at the hands of this awful man.
Paula keeps going, buoyed on by her friendshiop with her best friend, journalist Anita. Not allowing herself to grieve, Paula unwittingly becomes a vigilanty in this field, she becomes protector, hunter, carer all in a mixed up version of what it is to be a female with a little extra level of control in her job as a doctor.
This writing is amazing, the pacing excellent and a thoroughly fleshed out cast. Anita becomes involved with a detective involved in the case of their slain friend, he becomes an excellent character. Full of violence and possibly some need to suspend belief, but a powerful story on an important topic told with an upfront brevity.
Not limited to only a harsh outcome, this book shows a tenacity of lifelong female friendship and the desire to help and protect. I have no hesitation of recommending this to the right audience, and rate it 5 stars.
I listened to this on the BorrowBox platform via my public library.
An Australian author who wrote for one of the shows my kids watched as youngsters, Bananas In Pyjamas I was pleased to read her for the first time. I believe Australia is full of skilled writers and Debra Oswald is one of them.
It was very full of the one topic, very content heavy with domestic and family violence, so if this is an issue for you as a reader, it would be advised that this one may be too much to bear.
Paula, a dedicated and smart GP in suburban Sydney has seen things she should have not. Having lost her husband to cancer she is already suffering. Part of a trio of extemely close girlfriends, she opens her home to the one who is abused by her husband, emotionally, physically and financially. She then witnesses this family's death at the hands of this awful man.
Paula keeps going, buoyed on by her friendshiop with her best friend, journalist Anita. Not allowing herself to grieve, Paula unwittingly becomes a vigilanty in this field, she becomes protector, hunter, carer all in a mixed up version of what it is to be a female with a little extra level of control in her job as a doctor.
This writing is amazing, the pacing excellent and a thoroughly fleshed out cast. Anita becomes involved with a detective involved in the case of their slain friend, he becomes an excellent character. Full of violence and possibly some need to suspend belief, but a powerful story on an important topic told with an upfront brevity.
Not limited to only a harsh outcome, this book shows a tenacity of lifelong female friendship and the desire to help and protect. I have no hesitation of recommending this to the right audience, and rate it 5 stars.
I listened to this on the BorrowBox platform via my public library.
December 13, 2021
Paula is a well respected suburban GP who enjoys her work. When Paula finds out that her friend Stacey and her children have been murdered by their estranged and abusive husband and father, she is not only devastated, but she is in total shock. Paula can’t believe what’s happened, but she also can’t understand how she missed the warning signs as Stacey and the children were staying with Paula after they fled from their home looking for a safer home.
Not so long after losing her friend Stacey and her children, Paula, has a patient at her surgery who presents with suspicious injuries and then the woman admits that her husband abuses her and is terrified of leaving him. What will Paula do to help this poor helpless victim, Paula knows there are many more victims out there, but how can they be saved when the system fails them.
The Family Doctor by Aussie author, Debra Oswald is a very powerful and confronting read and I must warn it’s not for everyone especially if you don’t like reading about domestic violence. This is a fast-paced and compelling novel that will stay with you for quite a while after you have read it. Highly recommended.
Not so long after losing her friend Stacey and her children, Paula, has a patient at her surgery who presents with suspicious injuries and then the woman admits that her husband abuses her and is terrified of leaving him. What will Paula do to help this poor helpless victim, Paula knows there are many more victims out there, but how can they be saved when the system fails them.
The Family Doctor by Aussie author, Debra Oswald is a very powerful and confronting read and I must warn it’s not for everyone especially if you don’t like reading about domestic violence. This is a fast-paced and compelling novel that will stay with you for quite a while after you have read it. Highly recommended.
March 31, 2021
This book deals with the very real and awful truth of domestic violence. It starts with a brutal murder/suicide involving young children. Absolutely heartbreaking.
The story of Paula, a GP unfolds. She walks into this scene and is more affected than she realises. She soon finds herself treating a patient that she suspects is being abused by her husband. When the husband presents to the practice Paula realises she has an opportunity. Should she kill this man and ensure the safety of his family or should she just do her duty and send him on his way? If she does the latter and he hurts his wife, can she live with the consequences of not acting?
Also in the story is Anita, Paula's best friend. A journalist who covers court cases and who becomes engrossed in the case of a young male accused of violently killing his partner.
A very engaging story but equally confronting. For those who are impacted by domestic violence be aware that this may be a little close to the bone.
Thank you Allen & Unwin for the paperback ARC that I won.
The story of Paula, a GP unfolds. She walks into this scene and is more affected than she realises. She soon finds herself treating a patient that she suspects is being abused by her husband. When the husband presents to the practice Paula realises she has an opportunity. Should she kill this man and ensure the safety of his family or should she just do her duty and send him on his way? If she does the latter and he hurts his wife, can she live with the consequences of not acting?
Also in the story is Anita, Paula's best friend. A journalist who covers court cases and who becomes engrossed in the case of a young male accused of violently killing his partner.
A very engaging story but equally confronting. For those who are impacted by domestic violence be aware that this may be a little close to the bone.
Thank you Allen & Unwin for the paperback ARC that I won.
May 31, 2021
“I don’t want to psychologise this. I don’t want to explain this away or analyse it in a way that drains the blood out of the primal bare fact of it: a man murdered his own children and their mother.”
The Family Doctor is the third adult novel by prize-winning Australian playwright and author, Debra Oswald. The audio version is read by Maria AngelicoFor twenty-five years, Stacey, Paula and Anita have been friends. Careers and life events have parted them at times, but now they are all, once again, in Sydney. For the last five months, Paula has shared her home with Stacey and her children as refuge from an abusive husband. That ends when the man enters her home, shoots dead his children and his estranged wife, and then turns the gun on himself.
After the initial shock that Paula and Anita suffer, their ongoing grief morphs into bewilderment and self-blame for missing signs, leading to discussion about how they could have helped Stacey hide, and then anger and indignance that this should ever be necessary. They even remark how men like that ought to be killed. Paula returns to her home determined to make the good memories eclipse the bad, and to her GP practice with an extra-vigilant eye on women and children.
But “Once an idea had been said aloud, even in a flippant way, it could establish its own blood supply in a person’s imagination”
As a court reporter, Anita funnels her rage into a long feature about how the system failed to protect women and children killed by men. That involves her attendance at the murder trial of John Santino, accused of pushing his girlfriend from an overpass into the path of a truck when she tried to leave him. She shares with Paula the daily progress of the trial, confident that this dangerous man will be put behind bars, and the heavily pregnant new girlfriend he parades daily in front of the media scrum will be safe.
Paula treats a young boy whose mother reluctantly admits she is under the control of such a man, a woman for whom the system is ineffective. What does Paula do when presented with the unexpected opportunity to remove the threat? Conflicting thoughts run through her brain: “It would be wrong to use her knowledge of the situation and her skills to intervene. It would be wrong, given her knowledge of the danger this woman faced, not to use her skills to intervene.”
Anita muses later “It was as if the malevolence from those men had oozed out of them, infecting the air, spreading until it turned a truly good person like Paula into a murderer.”
In her thought-provoking story, Oswald describes the common pattern that these murders by malevolent men follow, and examines what could happen when the system fails the vulnerable and the anger and despair push those who feel powerless into something they would ordinarily never consider doing. With a few small vignettes, Oswald so deftly paints her victims that the reader’s heart cannot help but ache for their loss, and the devastating effects of that loss on those who remain.
Her characters are believably flawed, their reactions entirely credible and their dialogue natural, if sometimes blackly funny. Oswald’s descriptive prose is wonderfully evocative: “A papery version of herself”, and she gives the reader a bit of romance, an exciting climax and a wholly realistic ending.
Good advice is to have some tissues ready for parts of this brilliantly-written tale. Powerful, topical and extremely relevant, this is an outstanding read.
The Family Doctor is the third adult novel by prize-winning Australian playwright and author, Debra Oswald. The audio version is read by Maria AngelicoFor twenty-five years, Stacey, Paula and Anita have been friends. Careers and life events have parted them at times, but now they are all, once again, in Sydney. For the last five months, Paula has shared her home with Stacey and her children as refuge from an abusive husband. That ends when the man enters her home, shoots dead his children and his estranged wife, and then turns the gun on himself.
After the initial shock that Paula and Anita suffer, their ongoing grief morphs into bewilderment and self-blame for missing signs, leading to discussion about how they could have helped Stacey hide, and then anger and indignance that this should ever be necessary. They even remark how men like that ought to be killed. Paula returns to her home determined to make the good memories eclipse the bad, and to her GP practice with an extra-vigilant eye on women and children.
But “Once an idea had been said aloud, even in a flippant way, it could establish its own blood supply in a person’s imagination”
As a court reporter, Anita funnels her rage into a long feature about how the system failed to protect women and children killed by men. That involves her attendance at the murder trial of John Santino, accused of pushing his girlfriend from an overpass into the path of a truck when she tried to leave him. She shares with Paula the daily progress of the trial, confident that this dangerous man will be put behind bars, and the heavily pregnant new girlfriend he parades daily in front of the media scrum will be safe.
Paula treats a young boy whose mother reluctantly admits she is under the control of such a man, a woman for whom the system is ineffective. What does Paula do when presented with the unexpected opportunity to remove the threat? Conflicting thoughts run through her brain: “It would be wrong to use her knowledge of the situation and her skills to intervene. It would be wrong, given her knowledge of the danger this woman faced, not to use her skills to intervene.”
Anita muses later “It was as if the malevolence from those men had oozed out of them, infecting the air, spreading until it turned a truly good person like Paula into a murderer.”
In her thought-provoking story, Oswald describes the common pattern that these murders by malevolent men follow, and examines what could happen when the system fails the vulnerable and the anger and despair push those who feel powerless into something they would ordinarily never consider doing. With a few small vignettes, Oswald so deftly paints her victims that the reader’s heart cannot help but ache for their loss, and the devastating effects of that loss on those who remain.
Her characters are believably flawed, their reactions entirely credible and their dialogue natural, if sometimes blackly funny. Oswald’s descriptive prose is wonderfully evocative: “A papery version of herself”, and she gives the reader a bit of romance, an exciting climax and a wholly realistic ending.
Good advice is to have some tissues ready for parts of this brilliantly-written tale. Powerful, topical and extremely relevant, this is an outstanding read.
August 25, 2021
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**4.5 stars**
The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald. (2021).
Paula is a dedicated suburban GP, who is devastated by the murder of her best friend Stacey as well as her two children by Stacey's estranged husband. Stacey and the kids had been staying with her and Paula is haunted by the thought she couldn't protect them. Not long after, a patient with suspicious injuries brings her anxious young son to Paula's workplace. The woman admits her husband abuses her but is terrified to leave and the law has failed to protect her. Can Paula go against everything she believes to ensure that a woman and child are saved? She isn't motivated by revenge, she's desperately trying to prevent a tragedy...
If you haven't already worked it out by the synopsis then I'll make it clear, this one comes with a trigger warning in relation to domestic violence. It's a confronting topic by any means and this novel describes many disturbing incidents. If you are able to read about this topic, then I highly recommend this compelling story. The novel starts immediately with the murder of Stacey and her children, who were living in Paula's house at the time. It becomes clear very quickly that while Paula appears to be coping as best she can, it has seriously affected her and she is having extreme levels of guilt. In her role as a GP, she has contact with families suffering violence and is now questioning if it's time for her to take serious action to protect these people... Paula and Stacey's best friend, Anita, also has ongoing exposure through her employment as a crime reporter and is currently covering a case involving domestic violence. Without giving away spoilers, there's certainly a lot of food for thought and I think this would make a great discussion novel for book clubs etc. I highly recommend this intense story which will no doubt provoke an emotional reaction from any reader.
*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr
**4.5 stars**
The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald. (2021).
Paula is a dedicated suburban GP, who is devastated by the murder of her best friend Stacey as well as her two children by Stacey's estranged husband. Stacey and the kids had been staying with her and Paula is haunted by the thought she couldn't protect them. Not long after, a patient with suspicious injuries brings her anxious young son to Paula's workplace. The woman admits her husband abuses her but is terrified to leave and the law has failed to protect her. Can Paula go against everything she believes to ensure that a woman and child are saved? She isn't motivated by revenge, she's desperately trying to prevent a tragedy...
If you haven't already worked it out by the synopsis then I'll make it clear, this one comes with a trigger warning in relation to domestic violence. It's a confronting topic by any means and this novel describes many disturbing incidents. If you are able to read about this topic, then I highly recommend this compelling story. The novel starts immediately with the murder of Stacey and her children, who were living in Paula's house at the time. It becomes clear very quickly that while Paula appears to be coping as best she can, it has seriously affected her and she is having extreme levels of guilt. In her role as a GP, she has contact with families suffering violence and is now questioning if it's time for her to take serious action to protect these people... Paula and Stacey's best friend, Anita, also has ongoing exposure through her employment as a crime reporter and is currently covering a case involving domestic violence. Without giving away spoilers, there's certainly a lot of food for thought and I think this would make a great discussion novel for book clubs etc. I highly recommend this intense story which will no doubt provoke an emotional reaction from any reader.
January 29, 2021
“I don’t want to psychologise this. I don’t want to explain this away or analyse it in a way that drains the blood out of the primal bare fact of it: a man murdered his own children and their mother.”
The Family Doctor is the third adult novel by prize-winning Australian playwright and author, Debra Oswald. For twenty-five years, Stacey, Paula and Anita have been friends. Careers and life events have parted them at times, but now they are all, once again, in Sydney. For the last five months, Paula has shared her home with Stacey and her children as refuge from an abusive husband. That ends when the man enters her home, shoots dead his children and his estranged wife, and then turns the gun on himself.
After the initial shock that Paula and Anita suffer, their ongoing grief morphs into bewilderment and self-blame for missing signs, leading to discussion about how they could have helped Stacey hide, and then anger and indignance that this should ever be necessary. They even remark how men like that ought to be killed. Paula returns to her home determined to make the good memories eclipse the bad, and to her GP practice with an extra-vigilant eye on women and children.
But “Once an idea had been said aloud, even in a flippant way, it could establish its own blood supply in a person’s imagination”
As a court reporter, Anita funnels her rage into a long feature about how the system failed to protect women and children killed by men. That involves her attendance at the murder trial of John Santino, accused of pushing his girlfriend from an overpass into the path of a truck when she tried to leave him. She shares with Paula the daily progress of the trial, confident that this dangerous man will be put behind bars, and the heavily pregnant new girlfriend he parades daily in front of the media scrum will be safe.
Paula treats a young boy whose mother reluctantly admits she is under the control of such a man, a woman for whom the system is ineffective. What does Paula do when presented with the unexpected opportunity to remove the threat? Conflicting thoughts run through her brain: “It would be wrong to use her knowledge of the situation and her skills to intervene. It would be wrong, given her knowledge of the danger this woman faced, not to use her skills to intervene.”
Anita muses later “It was as if the malevolence from those men had oozed out of them, infecting the air, spreading until it turned a truly good person like Paula into a murderer.”
In her thought-provoking story, Oswald describes the common pattern that these murders by malevolent men follow, and examines what could happen when the system fails the vulnerable and the anger and despair push those who feel powerless into something they would ordinarily never consider doing. With a few small vignettes, Oswald so deftly paints her victims that the reader’s heart cannot help but ache for their loss, and the devastating effects of that loss on those who remain.
Her characters are believably flawed, their reactions entirely credible and their dialogue natural, if sometimes blackly funny. Oswald’s descriptive prose is wonderfully evocative: “A papery version of herself”, and she gives the reader a bit of romance, an exciting climax and a wholly realistic ending.
Good advice is to have some tissues ready for parts of this brilliantly-written tale. Powerful, topical and extremely relevant, this is an outstanding read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin.
The Family Doctor is the third adult novel by prize-winning Australian playwright and author, Debra Oswald. For twenty-five years, Stacey, Paula and Anita have been friends. Careers and life events have parted them at times, but now they are all, once again, in Sydney. For the last five months, Paula has shared her home with Stacey and her children as refuge from an abusive husband. That ends when the man enters her home, shoots dead his children and his estranged wife, and then turns the gun on himself.
After the initial shock that Paula and Anita suffer, their ongoing grief morphs into bewilderment and self-blame for missing signs, leading to discussion about how they could have helped Stacey hide, and then anger and indignance that this should ever be necessary. They even remark how men like that ought to be killed. Paula returns to her home determined to make the good memories eclipse the bad, and to her GP practice with an extra-vigilant eye on women and children.
But “Once an idea had been said aloud, even in a flippant way, it could establish its own blood supply in a person’s imagination”
As a court reporter, Anita funnels her rage into a long feature about how the system failed to protect women and children killed by men. That involves her attendance at the murder trial of John Santino, accused of pushing his girlfriend from an overpass into the path of a truck when she tried to leave him. She shares with Paula the daily progress of the trial, confident that this dangerous man will be put behind bars, and the heavily pregnant new girlfriend he parades daily in front of the media scrum will be safe.
Paula treats a young boy whose mother reluctantly admits she is under the control of such a man, a woman for whom the system is ineffective. What does Paula do when presented with the unexpected opportunity to remove the threat? Conflicting thoughts run through her brain: “It would be wrong to use her knowledge of the situation and her skills to intervene. It would be wrong, given her knowledge of the danger this woman faced, not to use her skills to intervene.”
Anita muses later “It was as if the malevolence from those men had oozed out of them, infecting the air, spreading until it turned a truly good person like Paula into a murderer.”
In her thought-provoking story, Oswald describes the common pattern that these murders by malevolent men follow, and examines what could happen when the system fails the vulnerable and the anger and despair push those who feel powerless into something they would ordinarily never consider doing. With a few small vignettes, Oswald so deftly paints her victims that the reader’s heart cannot help but ache for their loss, and the devastating effects of that loss on those who remain.
Her characters are believably flawed, their reactions entirely credible and their dialogue natural, if sometimes blackly funny. Oswald’s descriptive prose is wonderfully evocative: “A papery version of herself”, and she gives the reader a bit of romance, an exciting climax and a wholly realistic ending.
Good advice is to have some tissues ready for parts of this brilliantly-written tale. Powerful, topical and extremely relevant, this is an outstanding read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin.
September 25, 2022
For all those who feel at a complete loss when watching the nightly news and hearing about yet another case of domestic violence that has ended in tragedy, The Family Doctor might be just what you’re looking for.
This is a thriller that has you seriously considering moral dilemmas you once thought were pretty cut and dried.
The story opens with the confronting scene of a murder/suicide of a mother and her two children at the hands of their father. Witnessing the whole thing was Paula, best friend of Stacy, the dead woman. Paula is a GP and finds herself profoundly and undeniably changed by the event.
Although she tries to get on with her life, she is perpetually wracked with the thoughts that she could have done more to protect and save her friend and the children.
Her work as a general practitioner means that she comes in contact with people from all walks of life. When a woman comes into the practice with her small boy it is clearly apparent she is the victim of domestic violence abuse. It brings all of Paula’s dark thoughts to the surface and she can think of nothing more than how she must be able to do something to protect this woman from further abuse. Her fear is that the same thing that happened to her friend might happen to this woman.
It is this kicking off point where Paula follows through on her thoughts under the guise that she’s protecting the woman and her son. The moral dilemma has been served and the line between right and wrong has been seriously challenged.
Paula is a strong lead character. She has dealt with personal tragedy in the past and has clearly been able to overcome loss and setbacks to become a stronger, more capable woman. But she now finds herself perched precariously on the horns of a diabolical dilemma. Oswald does a superb job of taking us deeply inside her mind to understand her reasoning for each and every decision she makes.
Another important player in the story is Anita, the third of the childhood friends who have remained close from school through to adulthood. Anita acts as the voice of reason as she attempts to point out just how wrong - legally, morally and socially - taking matters into her own hands would be.
Each of the main characters are flawed but in a believable, relatable way. Their reactions are entirely credible and their dialogue flows naturally. At times, there is an element of black humour to their relationships.
Tension and drama builds slowly from the devastation of losing a lifelong friend to resolve to take action to avoid it happening again. In some ways, there is some catharsis to Paula’s development from caring doctor to angel of vengeance.
The Family Doctor is an important book because of the serious issues that are discussed throughout. It shines a light on the failings of the legal system and the glaring lack of protection of the vulnerable from those who should be protecting them.
This book should appeal to all manner of crime and thriller readers, particularly those who go in for a little domestic noir. The issues are real, the characters are believable and the story is well told. It does what all good books should do, it leaves you thinking.
The book was shortlisted for the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction (deservedly so).
This is a thriller that has you seriously considering moral dilemmas you once thought were pretty cut and dried.
The story opens with the confronting scene of a murder/suicide of a mother and her two children at the hands of their father. Witnessing the whole thing was Paula, best friend of Stacy, the dead woman. Paula is a GP and finds herself profoundly and undeniably changed by the event.
Although she tries to get on with her life, she is perpetually wracked with the thoughts that she could have done more to protect and save her friend and the children.
Her work as a general practitioner means that she comes in contact with people from all walks of life. When a woman comes into the practice with her small boy it is clearly apparent she is the victim of domestic violence abuse. It brings all of Paula’s dark thoughts to the surface and she can think of nothing more than how she must be able to do something to protect this woman from further abuse. Her fear is that the same thing that happened to her friend might happen to this woman.
“She was contemplating committing a crime in order to prevent one”
It is this kicking off point where Paula follows through on her thoughts under the guise that she’s protecting the woman and her son. The moral dilemma has been served and the line between right and wrong has been seriously challenged.
Paula is a strong lead character. She has dealt with personal tragedy in the past and has clearly been able to overcome loss and setbacks to become a stronger, more capable woman. But she now finds herself perched precariously on the horns of a diabolical dilemma. Oswald does a superb job of taking us deeply inside her mind to understand her reasoning for each and every decision she makes.
Another important player in the story is Anita, the third of the childhood friends who have remained close from school through to adulthood. Anita acts as the voice of reason as she attempts to point out just how wrong - legally, morally and socially - taking matters into her own hands would be.
Each of the main characters are flawed but in a believable, relatable way. Their reactions are entirely credible and their dialogue flows naturally. At times, there is an element of black humour to their relationships.
Tension and drama builds slowly from the devastation of losing a lifelong friend to resolve to take action to avoid it happening again. In some ways, there is some catharsis to Paula’s development from caring doctor to angel of vengeance.
The Family Doctor is an important book because of the serious issues that are discussed throughout. It shines a light on the failings of the legal system and the glaring lack of protection of the vulnerable from those who should be protecting them.
This book should appeal to all manner of crime and thriller readers, particularly those who go in for a little domestic noir. The issues are real, the characters are believable and the story is well told. It does what all good books should do, it leaves you thinking.
The book was shortlisted for the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction (deservedly so).
Read
April 18, 2021This one was too hard for me, but an important one well written by Debra Oswald. I've read two previous books by her that I liked a lot. Having spent some years on a board for a Domestic Violence service in Sydney and having been a White Ribbon ambassador, I am well versed in the problem in Australia where an average of one woman a week is killed by her male partner, but the first chapter was the most devestating I've ever read. Maybe sometime again in the future.
DNF
DNF
April 2, 2021
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald is an emotive moral thriller that immediately gets right under your skin. Opening with a crushing scenario where a mother and her two children are found dead at the hands of their father/husband, The Family Doctor is a devastating but important read.
Directing the proceedings of The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald is Paula, a dedicated GP who has recently been touched by the shocking murder of her close friend and her two children. The responsibility for this terrible case of domestic violence and mental illness rests with the father figure, who killed himself straight after this heartbreaking event. Paula has been unable to move on since the loss of her friend Stacey and her children. Paula has continued to have strong feelings of doubt that she could have done more to protect her friend and prevent this horrible tragedy from occurring. This impacts Paula’s day to day life and practice as a general practitioner for a suburban surgery. When a patient presenting with domestic violence issues enters Paula’s surgery with her sick young son, Paula feels she must do more than the law can to protect this woman from further distress. In trying to save this woman, Paula puts her life on the line and her career as a respected doctor. In this act of pure protection, Paula commits an act that will have serious moral implications. When the system is clearly failing women such as Stacey, The Family Doctor crosses the boundaries between right and wrong in this scintillating contemporary fiction composition.
Debra Oswald moves away from her light hearted previous work as a screen writer on Offspring and her past release Useful, to a much darker story in The Family Doctor. With a devastating opening which sees the discovery of three bodies from the same family and the suicide of the perpetrator, Debra Oswald’s latest is shocking tale that cuts right at the heart.
The first thing that struck me about The Family Doctor was the strong visual and theatrical feel to this novel. Drawing on her vast experience in the screen industry has allowed author Debra Oswald to approach her new novel with a high degree of tension and vision. I could picture the terrible events of this story very easily, it wasn’t hard to conjure up these devastating images, but it was difficult to process the circumstances of what I was being presented with. Sadly, situations such as the deaths of a mother and her children at the hands of their father/husband are all too commonplace in our society. Oswald also draws our attention to other forms of family and domestic violence in this novel via two other situations that play out during the course of the storyline. Oswald has strived to achieve a realistic and informed narrative. There is also a good balance between fact, opinion and insight, without delving into a sermon style approach. This would not have been an easy feat, so I appreciated Oswald’s efforts.
Paula is our main character for the duration of this piece, with extra supporting time given to her close friend Anita, her boyfriend who is a detective and we also receive some essential flashback time with Stacey in the past. All these viewpoints work well to support the overall direction of this hard-hitting storyline. I was able to sympathise with and understand Paula’s actions. I did wish that Paula had gained more mental health support as the trauma of Stacey’s death began impact her life in many areas. Anita provides a level head in terms of a journalistic point of view of this shocking case of domestic abuse and Anita’s personal responses are important to the story as a whole. Anita is also involved in a small side story of burgeoning relationship in the face of tragedy. I appreciated this extra addition to the overall storyline arc.
There are lots of shocks, reeling moments, tense situations and what if scenarios for the reader to contend with in The Family Doctor. However, what I hope potential readers of this novel will glean from this story is the need to place more attention on the domestic and family violence sphere – can we do more?
*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
The Family Doctor is book #26 of the 2021 Australian Women Writers Challenge
The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald is an emotive moral thriller that immediately gets right under your skin. Opening with a crushing scenario where a mother and her two children are found dead at the hands of their father/husband, The Family Doctor is a devastating but important read.
Directing the proceedings of The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald is Paula, a dedicated GP who has recently been touched by the shocking murder of her close friend and her two children. The responsibility for this terrible case of domestic violence and mental illness rests with the father figure, who killed himself straight after this heartbreaking event. Paula has been unable to move on since the loss of her friend Stacey and her children. Paula has continued to have strong feelings of doubt that she could have done more to protect her friend and prevent this horrible tragedy from occurring. This impacts Paula’s day to day life and practice as a general practitioner for a suburban surgery. When a patient presenting with domestic violence issues enters Paula’s surgery with her sick young son, Paula feels she must do more than the law can to protect this woman from further distress. In trying to save this woman, Paula puts her life on the line and her career as a respected doctor. In this act of pure protection, Paula commits an act that will have serious moral implications. When the system is clearly failing women such as Stacey, The Family Doctor crosses the boundaries between right and wrong in this scintillating contemporary fiction composition.
Debra Oswald moves away from her light hearted previous work as a screen writer on Offspring and her past release Useful, to a much darker story in The Family Doctor. With a devastating opening which sees the discovery of three bodies from the same family and the suicide of the perpetrator, Debra Oswald’s latest is shocking tale that cuts right at the heart.
The first thing that struck me about The Family Doctor was the strong visual and theatrical feel to this novel. Drawing on her vast experience in the screen industry has allowed author Debra Oswald to approach her new novel with a high degree of tension and vision. I could picture the terrible events of this story very easily, it wasn’t hard to conjure up these devastating images, but it was difficult to process the circumstances of what I was being presented with. Sadly, situations such as the deaths of a mother and her children at the hands of their father/husband are all too commonplace in our society. Oswald also draws our attention to other forms of family and domestic violence in this novel via two other situations that play out during the course of the storyline. Oswald has strived to achieve a realistic and informed narrative. There is also a good balance between fact, opinion and insight, without delving into a sermon style approach. This would not have been an easy feat, so I appreciated Oswald’s efforts.
Paula is our main character for the duration of this piece, with extra supporting time given to her close friend Anita, her boyfriend who is a detective and we also receive some essential flashback time with Stacey in the past. All these viewpoints work well to support the overall direction of this hard-hitting storyline. I was able to sympathise with and understand Paula’s actions. I did wish that Paula had gained more mental health support as the trauma of Stacey’s death began impact her life in many areas. Anita provides a level head in terms of a journalistic point of view of this shocking case of domestic abuse and Anita’s personal responses are important to the story as a whole. Anita is also involved in a small side story of burgeoning relationship in the face of tragedy. I appreciated this extra addition to the overall storyline arc.
There are lots of shocks, reeling moments, tense situations and what if scenarios for the reader to contend with in The Family Doctor. However, what I hope potential readers of this novel will glean from this story is the need to place more attention on the domestic and family violence sphere – can we do more?
*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
The Family Doctor is book #26 of the 2021 Australian Women Writers Challenge
August 17, 2021
The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald is a domestic noir novel centred around Paula, a GP in suburban Sydney. She has been friends with Anita and Stacey since high school, but Paula's life is turned upside down when one of these women is the victim of domestic violence early on in the book. This is all in the blurb (so not a spoiler) and The Family Doctor focusses on what happens to Paula in the aftermath of that tragedy.
Domestic violence is a serious problem in Australia, with one woman losing her life to domestic violence each week in our country.
Through Anita's role as a crime reporter and Paula's as a Doctor, Debra Oswald is able to shed light on this issue in a sensitive and caring way, whilst also forcing us to consider what we might do in their individual circumstances.
We've all visited a GP at some point (some of us more frequently than others) and I'm sure many of us have wondered about our Doctor's other patients and what our GP must have to deal with in a day. Here, Oswald gives us a peek behind the privacy curtain and Paula's unique character perspective was refreshing.
The Australian setting was instantly relatable to me and the plot development felt realistic and insightful. The Family Doctor reads like a thriller, but also contains lighter moments, focussing on the depths of love and friendship as well as grief.
The Family Doctor by Australian author Debra Oswald is recommended for crime and thriller readers and those who enjoy domestic noir. If domestic violence is a trigger for you then choose wisely, as The Family Doctor shines a light on this issue without apology.
* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin *
Domestic violence is a serious problem in Australia, with one woman losing her life to domestic violence each week in our country.
Through Anita's role as a crime reporter and Paula's as a Doctor, Debra Oswald is able to shed light on this issue in a sensitive and caring way, whilst also forcing us to consider what we might do in their individual circumstances.
We've all visited a GP at some point (some of us more frequently than others) and I'm sure many of us have wondered about our Doctor's other patients and what our GP must have to deal with in a day. Here, Oswald gives us a peek behind the privacy curtain and Paula's unique character perspective was refreshing.
The Australian setting was instantly relatable to me and the plot development felt realistic and insightful. The Family Doctor reads like a thriller, but also contains lighter moments, focussing on the depths of love and friendship as well as grief.
The Family Doctor by Australian author Debra Oswald is recommended for crime and thriller readers and those who enjoy domestic noir. If domestic violence is a trigger for you then choose wisely, as The Family Doctor shines a light on this issue without apology.
* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin *
March 13, 2021
Thank you Allen & Unwin for sending us a copy to read and review.
The first chapter of this book is very powerful, brutal, heartbreaking and very hard to read but it does set the scene and tone for this explosive drama.
Paula, Stacey and Anita have been close friends since childhood but when tragedy strikes it changes their bond forever.
A suburban doctor, Paula is heartbroken when her best friend and the kids are murdered by their abusive father and husband.
She is devastated and hurt that she didn’t see the signs and couldn’t protect them.
As time begins to heal, Paula is confronted with a patient, while consulting with the woman’s child, she notices suspicious marks and bruises on the woman.
The woman confesses her husband hurts her.
Paula then decides to take matters into her own hands.
A shocking, intense, confronting and thoroughly enthralling read.
It’s thought provoking and one that will start conversation.
A very current narrative highlighting the serious issues, the failings of the justice system and examining medical ethics.
A gripping pace, great character development and at times will give you goosebumps.
You must ask yourself the question, “what would you do if you were put in the same situation”.
And I’ll leave it there..........
The first chapter of this book is very powerful, brutal, heartbreaking and very hard to read but it does set the scene and tone for this explosive drama.
Paula, Stacey and Anita have been close friends since childhood but when tragedy strikes it changes their bond forever.
A suburban doctor, Paula is heartbroken when her best friend and the kids are murdered by their abusive father and husband.
She is devastated and hurt that she didn’t see the signs and couldn’t protect them.
As time begins to heal, Paula is confronted with a patient, while consulting with the woman’s child, she notices suspicious marks and bruises on the woman.
The woman confesses her husband hurts her.
Paula then decides to take matters into her own hands.
A shocking, intense, confronting and thoroughly enthralling read.
It’s thought provoking and one that will start conversation.
A very current narrative highlighting the serious issues, the failings of the justice system and examining medical ethics.
A gripping pace, great character development and at times will give you goosebumps.
You must ask yourself the question, “what would you do if you were put in the same situation”.
And I’ll leave it there..........
February 14, 2021
This book is an amazing read. From start to finish I was gripped. You never knew what was going to happen next. One of the opening scenes was intense and it didn't stop from there.
Debra Oswald is definitely an author to watch and I would happily read another of her books as she is extremely talented.
All I can say is read this book as I am sure others would enjoy it as much as me.
It covers the very sad topic of domestic violence which can be very confronting but it is also a real problem in society.
I want to thank Better Reading for my copy of this book to read as I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Debra Oswald is definitely an author to watch and I would happily read another of her books as she is extremely talented.
All I can say is read this book as I am sure others would enjoy it as much as me.
It covers the very sad topic of domestic violence which can be very confronting but it is also a real problem in society.
I want to thank Better Reading for my copy of this book to read as I enjoyed it thoroughly.
May 12, 2022
What a confronting, worthwhile, and deeply moving read!
The devastating impact of domestic violence and the role of friendship and support are all part of this incredible read. What a storyteller. Sadly, the novel portrays all too familiar scenarios in the media, but Oswald delves deeper; with such authenticity, it was difficult not to shed a tear. Remarkable reading!
Definitely a significant trigger warning for any DV impacted readers.
The devastating impact of domestic violence and the role of friendship and support are all part of this incredible read. What a storyteller. Sadly, the novel portrays all too familiar scenarios in the media, but Oswald delves deeper; with such authenticity, it was difficult not to shed a tear. Remarkable reading!
Definitely a significant trigger warning for any DV impacted readers.
March 5, 2021
I was surprisingly devastated by the events that open The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald. The author sets them up well and they trigger everything that comes after. I was worried however, that what did come next would be predictable: a cynical and distrustful woman driven mad by guilt and sadness and committing a laboriously drawn-out vengeful act as a result.
Thankfully however, the book wasn't at all like that. The two leads Oswald gives us are fabulously nuanced. And fears I had regarding 'the family doctor', GP Paula, being overly obsessed and paranoid were unfounded.
Read the full review on my site: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...
Thankfully however, the book wasn't at all like that. The two leads Oswald gives us are fabulously nuanced. And fears I had regarding 'the family doctor', GP Paula, being overly obsessed and paranoid were unfounded.
Read the full review on my site: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...
May 21, 2021
I know a number of people have already reviewed this book so I won’t repeat the blurb or outline the plot. I shall simply express my thoughts – a stream of consciousness if you will. Well sort of!
I am honestly still torn re my opinions of this book. On the one hand the subject matter is topical and the way it is handled is rather interesting although some characters, especially the victims, felt a little stereotypical – cardboard cut-out. But then it could be argued that they represent the common experience/behaviour. A good book for discussion at a book club especially re the moral dilemmas it poses. Or perhaps presents is a better word as, in my opinion, these were not fully explored. At times the novel felt long and slow. But then should we skim over domestic violence and the massive faults within our judicial system? At times it felt contrived, could one person be exposed to so much in such a short period of time. But then again current domestic violence figures in Australia indicate that this is not unrealistic, especially for a GP. What was it that held me back from loving this book? My biggest issue was that it regularly felt predictable, I knew exactly what would happen next, there were no shocks or surprises for me. Perhaps this is because I recently read Layne Fargo's They Never Learn. Perhaps because the writing needed to be a little more nuanced.
Great first chapter, a good degree of promise, but ultimately the total package was somewhat lacking.
I am honestly still torn re my opinions of this book. On the one hand the subject matter is topical and the way it is handled is rather interesting although some characters, especially the victims, felt a little stereotypical – cardboard cut-out. But then it could be argued that they represent the common experience/behaviour. A good book for discussion at a book club especially re the moral dilemmas it poses. Or perhaps presents is a better word as, in my opinion, these were not fully explored. At times the novel felt long and slow. But then should we skim over domestic violence and the massive faults within our judicial system? At times it felt contrived, could one person be exposed to so much in such a short period of time. But then again current domestic violence figures in Australia indicate that this is not unrealistic, especially for a GP. What was it that held me back from loving this book? My biggest issue was that it regularly felt predictable, I knew exactly what would happen next, there were no shocks or surprises for me. Perhaps this is because I recently read Layne Fargo's They Never Learn. Perhaps because the writing needed to be a little more nuanced.
Great first chapter, a good degree of promise, but ultimately the total package was somewhat lacking.
March 11, 2021
From screenwriter, playwright and author Debra Oswald comes a new novel The Family Doctor (Allen and Unwin 2021), a thought-provoking and suspenseful tale about domestic violence, love, grief, and women’s friendship and their fury. This book asks the questions: ‘Can a good person justify taking a life to save a life? Should you cling to faith in a flawed system, or take control the only way you can?’
Paula, Stacey and Anita have been friends since childhood. Now in their mid to late thirties, they have shared heartache, new love, loss, new life and trauma. Their friendship is solid and unwavering. Paula is a suburban GP still grieving her husband, gone too soon. Stacey has two adorable young children but is isolated on a rural property with an abusive husband. Anita is a court journalist navigating a new relationship. Stacey and her children come to stay with Paula to escape her estranged husband but in a shocking opening scene he murders them in Paula’s home. Paula is unable to live with the guilt she feels that she couldn’t do more to save them, that she missed the signs, that she wasn’t there when her friend needed her. She is also angry, full of rage at the violence inflicted against women. Anita is also devastated by their friend’s death and feeling impotent to do anything to stop the system from failing women.
Two other situations become prominent in the story. One is the circumstance of Rochelle, a patient who comes into Paula’s practice with her young son. Paula immediately detects the tell-tale signs of abuse and struggles with how to help Rochelle when it is clear the mother wants only to let sleeping dogs lie. The second situation is the very public trial of a man named Santino, charged with throwing his partner off a bridge. The defence argues that he was trying to prevent her from jumping. Santino’s very pregnant new partner attends the trial every day, along with his sister and other family members. Anita is covering the trial, disturbed by the similarities or commonalities between the Santino case and her friend Stacey.
Then Paula goes rogue, going against everything she believes in, everything she has trained for, to make sure she saves one woman and spares one child. But in attempting to prevent a tragedy, how far is she prepared to go? How elastic will her moral band be? Paula’s choices and actions haunt her, and she becomes hopelessly mired in an ethical dilemma. And when Anita becomes involved, each woman must try to live with her conscience after what she has done or hasn’t done, or what she knows.
Debra Oswald says the novel is ‘inspired by real stories’ and ‘springs from my anguish about violence against women, the impotent rage many of us feel when we hear that yet another woman and her kids have been killed…I think [this fictional story] can carry some of that intense feeling’.
I love this conversation between Paula and Rochelle:
‘Don’t waste emotional energy feeling guilty, Rochelle. You’re a brave person and a loving mother who did the best she could in an impossible situation.’
‘The thing is,’ Rochelle said, ‘when you’ve been in a situation for so long, it feels like that’s normal life – well, even if you know it’s not normal, it’s how things are. But then something changes and it’s like, “I remember this! This is what safe feels like.”’
Gripping, riveting and page-turning as a thriller, this novel is also thoughtful, curious and will provoke much discussion amongst readers about right and wrong, the law and justice, punishment and revenge, safety and risk, and the ethics of taking matters into your own hands if the police or legal systems are failing you.
Paula, Stacey and Anita have been friends since childhood. Now in their mid to late thirties, they have shared heartache, new love, loss, new life and trauma. Their friendship is solid and unwavering. Paula is a suburban GP still grieving her husband, gone too soon. Stacey has two adorable young children but is isolated on a rural property with an abusive husband. Anita is a court journalist navigating a new relationship. Stacey and her children come to stay with Paula to escape her estranged husband but in a shocking opening scene he murders them in Paula’s home. Paula is unable to live with the guilt she feels that she couldn’t do more to save them, that she missed the signs, that she wasn’t there when her friend needed her. She is also angry, full of rage at the violence inflicted against women. Anita is also devastated by their friend’s death and feeling impotent to do anything to stop the system from failing women.
Two other situations become prominent in the story. One is the circumstance of Rochelle, a patient who comes into Paula’s practice with her young son. Paula immediately detects the tell-tale signs of abuse and struggles with how to help Rochelle when it is clear the mother wants only to let sleeping dogs lie. The second situation is the very public trial of a man named Santino, charged with throwing his partner off a bridge. The defence argues that he was trying to prevent her from jumping. Santino’s very pregnant new partner attends the trial every day, along with his sister and other family members. Anita is covering the trial, disturbed by the similarities or commonalities between the Santino case and her friend Stacey.
Then Paula goes rogue, going against everything she believes in, everything she has trained for, to make sure she saves one woman and spares one child. But in attempting to prevent a tragedy, how far is she prepared to go? How elastic will her moral band be? Paula’s choices and actions haunt her, and she becomes hopelessly mired in an ethical dilemma. And when Anita becomes involved, each woman must try to live with her conscience after what she has done or hasn’t done, or what she knows.
Debra Oswald says the novel is ‘inspired by real stories’ and ‘springs from my anguish about violence against women, the impotent rage many of us feel when we hear that yet another woman and her kids have been killed…I think [this fictional story] can carry some of that intense feeling’.
I love this conversation between Paula and Rochelle:
‘Don’t waste emotional energy feeling guilty, Rochelle. You’re a brave person and a loving mother who did the best she could in an impossible situation.’
‘The thing is,’ Rochelle said, ‘when you’ve been in a situation for so long, it feels like that’s normal life – well, even if you know it’s not normal, it’s how things are. But then something changes and it’s like, “I remember this! This is what safe feels like.”’
Gripping, riveting and page-turning as a thriller, this novel is also thoughtful, curious and will provoke much discussion amongst readers about right and wrong, the law and justice, punishment and revenge, safety and risk, and the ethics of taking matters into your own hands if the police or legal systems are failing you.
April 13, 2021
This was an incredibly thought provoking book ...right , wrong or simply understandable the characters actions were centre most in this book but also the sweep of domestic violence that this country faces
July 25, 2021
This book is about violence perpetrated by men against their partners and children so yes, pretty harrowing to read. It’s also about Paula, a GP who is suffering the trauma of having discovered the gruesome murders of her dear friend, and her friend’s two young children. There’s a moral dilemma for the reader as we are presented with sound justifications for why an otherwise good person could murder another.
Oswald has created a gripping and believable story. I don’t really know anything about being a GP or the court system or thankfully, being in the grip of a controlling and violent man but it all seemed to be authentic and as a result, quite disturbing.
Oswald has created a gripping and believable story. I don’t really know anything about being a GP or the court system or thankfully, being in the grip of a controlling and violent man but it all seemed to be authentic and as a result, quite disturbing.
March 19, 2022
I would never have picked up this book as I look at covers then read blogs before reading. This is absolutely brilliant and one of the best I’ve read this year. As the title suggests it’s based on Dr Paula Kaczmarek, a well respected GP and her two friends Stacey and Anita but things start going haywire and she becomes a changed person. Without giving too much away it’s certainly a page turner and I could have just read right through the night at some points. She becomes kind of obsessed to try to help abused women and children but it would give so much away if I continued on this vane! I just wish I’d managed to get to Adelaide Writers Week and find out more from this author. She’s written for screen shows like Offspring, The secret life of us and Police Rescue including some children’s programmes. She’s also written some children’s books too. This author is well worth a look … 5 stars is the most I could give here but it’s certainly justified.
July 4, 2025
3.5⭐️
The start was intense, and then really slow but I did persist. So many things that happened were too coincidental and convenient, making parts of the book too predictable. Also so many ethical dilemmas from so many characters throughout that aren’t acknowledged. However, once the book escalated I could not put it down. The ending absolutely shook me and overall, was a good read!
The start was intense, and then really slow but I did persist. So many things that happened were too coincidental and convenient, making parts of the book too predictable. Also so many ethical dilemmas from so many characters throughout that aren’t acknowledged. However, once the book escalated I could not put it down. The ending absolutely shook me and overall, was a good read!
June 27, 2021
Before I begin, let me tell you a little story we were told in an ethics class long ago, which has always stayed in my mind. A train is racing towards a canyon, where the bridge has collapsed. You have the power to stop the train by diverting it onto an unused line, but a family are sitting on the tracks having a picnic and there is no time to warn them. What do you do? Let the train run its current course and know that hundreds of passengers are doomed, or save them by diverting the train but kill a family in the process?
This is the sort of ethical dilemma Dr Paula Kackzmarek faces in Oswald’s confronting and thought provoking novel THE FAMILY DOCTOR. Paula has always been a rock to her friends and family, even through times of personal tragedy when she lost her young husband to cancer. When her long-time friend Stacey and her two kids had to flee their family home to escape Stacey’s violent husband, Paula didn’t hesitate to take them in. But then the unthinkable happened, and Paula came home from work to find her friend and her two children had been shot by her estranged husband, in a terrible murder-suicide. So when Paula encounters a woman and her child in her clinic, bearing the scars of domestic violence, she is determined to help her. With a system often powerless to stop violence against women and legal processes that see many predators freed due to technicalities, Paula feels helpless. Can she stand back and risk another woman being killed by her violent husband, or should she take matters into her own hands?
When I picked up THE FAMILY DOCTOR, I had no idea how deeply this novel would draw me in, and keep me captivated in a state of permanent moral conflict. Initially I stood firmly on my own moral highground, but as the story unfolded, layer after layer, I realised what a complex and ambivalent story this had become. Oswald draws her characters so well that I was quickly emotionally invested and could no longer look away or pretend that this was not troubling me on many levels. Even now, I feel like I need to discuss this book with someone! According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1 in 6 women have experienced violence from a current or previous partner. These terrible numbers don’t lie!
Throughout the book, I felt the author’s frustration with a legal system that often sets predators free, only to continue the cycle of violence. By exploring the topic through a variety of characters – a doctor, a journalist covering a murder trial where a man has been accused of killing his girlfriend, a police detective plus several victims of domestic violence – Oswald explores all the ethical and moral nooks and crannies associated with this issue.
THE FAMILY DOCTOR is a well researched, well written novel that really got under my skin! I was in a constant state of anxiety trying to sort out my own thoughts about Paula’s situation, and confronting my own moral highground and preconceived ideas about many issues surrounding the topic of domestic violence in our society today. Being set in Australia made it even more relevant, as it described processes I am familiar with through my work and everyday life. This was a profound if troubling piece of writing, which will stay in my mind for a long time to come.
4.5 stars
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This is the sort of ethical dilemma Dr Paula Kackzmarek faces in Oswald’s confronting and thought provoking novel THE FAMILY DOCTOR. Paula has always been a rock to her friends and family, even through times of personal tragedy when she lost her young husband to cancer. When her long-time friend Stacey and her two kids had to flee their family home to escape Stacey’s violent husband, Paula didn’t hesitate to take them in. But then the unthinkable happened, and Paula came home from work to find her friend and her two children had been shot by her estranged husband, in a terrible murder-suicide. So when Paula encounters a woman and her child in her clinic, bearing the scars of domestic violence, she is determined to help her. With a system often powerless to stop violence against women and legal processes that see many predators freed due to technicalities, Paula feels helpless. Can she stand back and risk another woman being killed by her violent husband, or should she take matters into her own hands?
When I picked up THE FAMILY DOCTOR, I had no idea how deeply this novel would draw me in, and keep me captivated in a state of permanent moral conflict. Initially I stood firmly on my own moral highground, but as the story unfolded, layer after layer, I realised what a complex and ambivalent story this had become. Oswald draws her characters so well that I was quickly emotionally invested and could no longer look away or pretend that this was not troubling me on many levels. Even now, I feel like I need to discuss this book with someone! According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1 in 6 women have experienced violence from a current or previous partner. These terrible numbers don’t lie!
Throughout the book, I felt the author’s frustration with a legal system that often sets predators free, only to continue the cycle of violence. By exploring the topic through a variety of characters – a doctor, a journalist covering a murder trial where a man has been accused of killing his girlfriend, a police detective plus several victims of domestic violence – Oswald explores all the ethical and moral nooks and crannies associated with this issue.
THE FAMILY DOCTOR is a well researched, well written novel that really got under my skin! I was in a constant state of anxiety trying to sort out my own thoughts about Paula’s situation, and confronting my own moral highground and preconceived ideas about many issues surrounding the topic of domestic violence in our society today. Being set in Australia made it even more relevant, as it described processes I am familiar with through my work and everyday life. This was a profound if troubling piece of writing, which will stay in my mind for a long time to come.
4.5 stars
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January 22, 2021
Debra Oswald, respected creator of TV’s Offspring and author of bestselling novels Useful and The Whole Bright Year, has built a reputation for her ability to paradoxically juxtapose serious life gravitas with laugh-out-loud humour. It was, therefore, with some surprise that I began reading her latest novel and quickly realized that she has totally – and brilliantly reinvented herself, jumping genres to provide a gripping suburban thriller which is certainly not ‘laugh out loud’.
Suburban Sydney G.P. Paula Kaczmarek supports her lifelong friend Stacey and two children by allowing them to move in with her to find refuge from their violent, estranged husband and father. When he tracks down and murders his family, Paula is, understandably, devastated and traumatized. She is haunted by self-blame, questioning herself for not adequately protecting them and somehow avoiding the tragedy.
When, soon thereafter, a patient comes into her surgery with suspicious injuries and an overly anxious child, the woman soon admits that she’s terrified that her husband’s violence will escalate if she tries to leave him. It occurs to Paula that she has it within her means to save this women and others like her – and perhaps give meaning to Stacey’s tragic end. She has access to lethal drugs and dosages that could indeed ensure that another cataclysmic event similar to Stacey’s can be avoided.
Yet can one ever justify taking a life to save a life or going against one’s very ethics to avoid violent tragedy? If the medical and the court system cannot protect such women and children, can Paula? Should she?
Issues of domestic violence, medical ethics and the justice system are handled with aplomb and obvious deep research. At the same time, themes of female friendship, revenge, grief, new love, resilience and remorse are deftly raised. Ideas stemming from Oswald’s adroit plotline are planted cerebrally like seeds, destined to continue to grow and blossom long after the book has been put down.
Not every author has the talent to bravely switch writing genres and succeed at it. Clearly Debra Oswald does.
Suburban Sydney G.P. Paula Kaczmarek supports her lifelong friend Stacey and two children by allowing them to move in with her to find refuge from their violent, estranged husband and father. When he tracks down and murders his family, Paula is, understandably, devastated and traumatized. She is haunted by self-blame, questioning herself for not adequately protecting them and somehow avoiding the tragedy.
When, soon thereafter, a patient comes into her surgery with suspicious injuries and an overly anxious child, the woman soon admits that she’s terrified that her husband’s violence will escalate if she tries to leave him. It occurs to Paula that she has it within her means to save this women and others like her – and perhaps give meaning to Stacey’s tragic end. She has access to lethal drugs and dosages that could indeed ensure that another cataclysmic event similar to Stacey’s can be avoided.
Yet can one ever justify taking a life to save a life or going against one’s very ethics to avoid violent tragedy? If the medical and the court system cannot protect such women and children, can Paula? Should she?
Issues of domestic violence, medical ethics and the justice system are handled with aplomb and obvious deep research. At the same time, themes of female friendship, revenge, grief, new love, resilience and remorse are deftly raised. Ideas stemming from Oswald’s adroit plotline are planted cerebrally like seeds, destined to continue to grow and blossom long after the book has been put down.
Not every author has the talent to bravely switch writing genres and succeed at it. Clearly Debra Oswald does.
May 29, 2021
Really ZERO STARS
This is the most ridiculous, contrived, poorly written book I have read in many years. Talking the important issue of Domestic Violence in Australia, the author manages to make it almost farcical with numerous plot holes, 1 dimensional, stereotypical characters and badly drawn descriptions. I felt like I was reading something written by a high school student. The writing was belaboured with character thoughts and conversations repeated across several pages.
The internal thoughts of Anita, a 35 year old journalist, read more like that if a 14 year girl and Paula, the family doctor, acted completely irresponsibility being at work after the multiple murder trauma. She doesn’t concede she is suffering from PTSD from her husband dying (dispute a drug addiction) finding her best friend and her 2 children murdered in her own house and witnessing the murderer shoot himself in the face and yet she is supposed to be an amazing doctor! She then goes on to murder 2 people - one in cold blood, and this is presented as a moral dilemma?? Please! And this is before we get to the major plot hole of the apparent lack of security, even CCTV, in the second victim’s expensive apartment building.
It’s a shame such an important issue has been almost trivialised with this appalling book!
This is the most ridiculous, contrived, poorly written book I have read in many years. Talking the important issue of Domestic Violence in Australia, the author manages to make it almost farcical with numerous plot holes, 1 dimensional, stereotypical characters and badly drawn descriptions. I felt like I was reading something written by a high school student. The writing was belaboured with character thoughts and conversations repeated across several pages.
The internal thoughts of Anita, a 35 year old journalist, read more like that if a 14 year girl and Paula, the family doctor, acted completely irresponsibility being at work after the multiple murder trauma. She doesn’t concede she is suffering from PTSD from her husband dying (dispute a drug addiction) finding her best friend and her 2 children murdered in her own house and witnessing the murderer shoot himself in the face and yet she is supposed to be an amazing doctor! She then goes on to murder 2 people - one in cold blood, and this is presented as a moral dilemma?? Please! And this is before we get to the major plot hole of the apparent lack of security, even CCTV, in the second victim’s expensive apartment building.
It’s a shame such an important issue has been almost trivialised with this appalling book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2021
Paula Kaczmarek is a doctor. Her friend Stacey is currently staying with her with her two kids, after Stacey moved away from her husband because of domestic violence. One day Paula comes home and finds the door open. Inside the house she finds Stacey dead, shot through the head. She searches for Stacey's kids and finds them dead in the same way. While she is reeling in shock, she sees Stacey's estranged husband enter the room with a rifle. While we and Paula are terrified about what he is going to do next, he shoots himself. After Paula recovers from this traumatic experience, she gets back to work. One day she notices that one of her patients has injuries caused clearly by domestic violence. When Paula offers help, this patient refuses. She says that her life will get harder if she complains against her husband. Paula thinks. She doesn't want this woman to suffer the same fate as her friend Stacey. She doesn't want to sit quiet and watch another woman get killed by her partner. She finally does something unconventional.
I can't tell you more, of course. You have to read the book to find out what happened.
I loved 'The Family Doctor'. The story is gripping, the action picks up on the first page and never lets go till the end. The friendship between Paula and Stacey and another friend Anita is beautifully depicted. The book asks some difficult questions on how the law works in domestic violence cases, on how it is possible for the perpetrator to get away with things. We can't stop thinking of the first line from William Gaddis' 'A Frolic of His Own' – "Justice? – You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law." Dr.Kaczmarek, Paula to us, realizes that and she kicks ass and dispenses her own brand of justice.
I wondered how the book would end and I thought I wouldn't be happy with it, but the author surprised me. It was a wonderful ending. It wasn't the perfect ending I wanted (I always want good characters to live happily ever after), but it was a very satisfying ending. Brava Debra Oswald for getting it right!
Have you read 'The Family Doctor'? What do you think about it?
I can't tell you more, of course. You have to read the book to find out what happened.
I loved 'The Family Doctor'. The story is gripping, the action picks up on the first page and never lets go till the end. The friendship between Paula and Stacey and another friend Anita is beautifully depicted. The book asks some difficult questions on how the law works in domestic violence cases, on how it is possible for the perpetrator to get away with things. We can't stop thinking of the first line from William Gaddis' 'A Frolic of His Own' – "Justice? – You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law." Dr.Kaczmarek, Paula to us, realizes that and she kicks ass and dispenses her own brand of justice.
I wondered how the book would end and I thought I wouldn't be happy with it, but the author surprised me. It was a wonderful ending. It wasn't the perfect ending I wanted (I always want good characters to live happily ever after), but it was a very satisfying ending. Brava Debra Oswald for getting it right!
Have you read 'The Family Doctor'? What do you think about it?
September 21, 2024
Ashamed to say I gasped out loud at the hairdressers at one bit.
Also, bit preachy
Also, bit preachy
March 20, 2021
There is a deep level of understanding and respect that Debra Oswald portrays in her characters and indeed her writing. The story lines in “The Family Doctor” seem to be peppered throughout the news in recent years. And it is on the other side of the family violence, selfish murder-suicides that we see the impact of how this affects those who are left behind.
Paula and Anita are strong women. Flawed and strong. Their portrayal is relatable and engaging. Paula is a doctor. She is bound to treat the human, and not the illness and to uphold the obligations of her profession. Paula and Anita are aware of Paula as a saver of life and having the power to take it away. This responsibility is a balance of vulnerability, humility and what is ethically right. Paula is caught in such a vicious spiral of loss and grief and anger, without the ability to fix things and make them better when her close friend and children are killed at the hand of their estranged partner and father.
Something must be done to protect women and children, and to take women seriously when they ask for help. All of our legal systems don’t seem to provide answers nor solutions. Oswald clearly brings this to light when we experience Paula’s grief and anger and frustrations. Something must happen to enact change. What Paula undertakes may not be right or just, but her actions hold an image of the desire to do something to enact change. People do bad things, and it is time our modern-day society starts to deal with the bad things properly to prevent good people suffering.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the ARC.
Paula and Anita are strong women. Flawed and strong. Their portrayal is relatable and engaging. Paula is a doctor. She is bound to treat the human, and not the illness and to uphold the obligations of her profession. Paula and Anita are aware of Paula as a saver of life and having the power to take it away. This responsibility is a balance of vulnerability, humility and what is ethically right. Paula is caught in such a vicious spiral of loss and grief and anger, without the ability to fix things and make them better when her close friend and children are killed at the hand of their estranged partner and father.
Something must be done to protect women and children, and to take women seriously when they ask for help. All of our legal systems don’t seem to provide answers nor solutions. Oswald clearly brings this to light when we experience Paula’s grief and anger and frustrations. Something must happen to enact change. What Paula undertakes may not be right or just, but her actions hold an image of the desire to do something to enact change. People do bad things, and it is time our modern-day society starts to deal with the bad things properly to prevent good people suffering.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the ARC.
March 7, 2021
This book was a heavy read, so important yet informative and compelling on so many levels highlighting society’s failure to protect the vulnerable.
🚨Trigger warning domestic abuse, physical and emotional abuse, death & grief.
This book starts so grim. Paula’s husband has not long passed away and her best friend Stacey and her two kids are living with her having fled an extremely abusing relationship. Anita is their other best friend and together they do it all. Until the day Stacey’s ex-husband murders her and the kids in Paula’s home.
Anita and Paula’s worlds are broken with the loss of their best friend. Paula continually haunted by the feeling she failed her friend and it was her fault she want there. Paula is also a local GP and when a woman comes in with signs of physical abuse Paula is triggered and pushed to do anything to protect the woman and her son.
Paula decides to take the law into her own hands as countless times the system has continued to let them down. Paula risks her life to help victims, even if it means braking the law and loosing everything. Revenge he is best served sweet!
🚨Trigger warning domestic abuse, physical and emotional abuse, death & grief.
This book starts so grim. Paula’s husband has not long passed away and her best friend Stacey and her two kids are living with her having fled an extremely abusing relationship. Anita is their other best friend and together they do it all. Until the day Stacey’s ex-husband murders her and the kids in Paula’s home.
Anita and Paula’s worlds are broken with the loss of their best friend. Paula continually haunted by the feeling she failed her friend and it was her fault she want there. Paula is also a local GP and when a woman comes in with signs of physical abuse Paula is triggered and pushed to do anything to protect the woman and her son.
Paula decides to take the law into her own hands as countless times the system has continued to let them down. Paula risks her life to help victims, even if it means braking the law and loosing everything. Revenge he is best served sweet!
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