Book Review- Out Of The Blue: Facing The Tsunami

[khall64au]

Published:, Sydney : ABC Books, 2006

Out of the Blue

She was trained to detach from events and record what followed. Human instinct intervened as Kimina Lyall stood transfixed at the approaching tsunami, awash in the greatest natural disaster of human history. South-east Asia correspondent for The Australian newspaper, this journalist records her lonely diary of coping in the midst of immense tragedy and reporting the biggest story of her career.

With little downtime from her multinational beat and catching the scoops that breathed life into the pages of a major Australian newspaper, Bangkok-based journalist Kimina Lyall had found the perfect retreat in a small, alternative community of international friends – at idyllic Golden Buddha Beach on Koh Phra Thong, off Thailand’s southwest coast.

With her longtime partner, they built a simple beach bungalow as a weekend getaway. Life was carefree and adventuresome discovering their brief isolations in paradise, bar one dark experience by the author on a lonely beach. Feeling strange rumblings in the earth followed by a supernatural low-tide, no one had any idea what was to come. Her other-worldly escape turned to unimaginable horror as the sea swallowed her friends the morning after a serene Christmas of 2004.

Running for her life, scrambling a hilltop to safety, days of shock and grief followed. Not knowing the fates of many from her island family – trapped with little communication from the outside world - Kimina reached Phuket and the relentless news demands from head office in Sydney. With her mobile phone miraculously intact, she had coped so far but Phuket was amok in global media teams. The pressure was on.

Frantically searching for the ‘Aussie with the dead baby story’, she called a colleague sobbing. What had happened to her friends on the island? Head office sent her to Khao Lak – where thousands had perished. The overwhelming destruction and death there was too much to bear. The picture desk called again asking for a ‘devastation’ shot from the Bamboo Hotel – God knows where. The energy drained from her soul. “###### off,” she replied and hung up the phone.

Kimina returned to Phra Thong Island a year after the tsunami to write her story. Her vivid reflections of life, innocence and trust in humanity, comes as a surprise for those with preconceived ideas of a seasoned journalist. This writer’s expose takes you willingly on a journey of shock at human behaviour after immense tragedy and rejoices at reunions with survivors. The author honestly shares the affects on personal relationships as professional demands intrude a world smashed by Nature.

Out of the Blue – Facing the Tsunami (available at Bookazine stores, Thailand) is a raw story of reaction to events beyond our conditioned comprehension. Kimina Lyall reveals the quintessential denial of living a natural tragedy that modern humanity is never prepared for.

- Kerrie Hall

* Kerrie Hall is a freelance journalist based on Phuket, Thailand since 2002. As a member of local media present during the 2004 tsunami, the above independent review is an honest appraisal of author Kimina Lyall's writing.

[jumnien]

You'll have to get a copy to Cari and Roger in Nepal, I'm sure they'll treasure it. Cheers.

[khall64au]

You'll have to get a copy to Cari and Roger in Nepal, I'm sure they'll treasure it. Cheers.

Bodhi is happy that his tsunami relief efforts turned into the successful Andaman Discoveries community co-op...

Cheers!

[seonai]

Read 'Wave of Destruction' recently by Erich Krauss recently - pretty good