Donny Paterson

This is the true story of a man called Donny Paterson. He was in the army when he was injured and over the course of the next decade became addicted to pain killers as he battled to cope with the feelings of rejection from the Army, his failure as a father and provider for his family and basically chronic pain and Depression. But then the Boxing Day Tsunami struck Asia in 2004, and Donny felt compelled to use his army training as an engineer to do something for those effected by this terrible disaster. He left Australia, and after meeting 3 other international rescue workers; they decided to help the people of a tiny coastal village called Peraliya. This was the site of where the wave not only hit their village, but also a passing passenger train, killing approximately 1600 people! Initially it was only the 4 of them trying to help the villagers but soon more aid agencies came to their aid. During the whole time, the work of Donny and his 3 friends was filmed and a documentary was made called "The Third Wave". This film was eventually shown at Sundance and Cannes film festivals and Donny went from being an out-of-work, pill-popping no-hoper to staying with Sean Penn and rubbing shoulders with the Hollywood elite. An engaging, larger-than-life character study; this book makes compelling reading because it is a genuine warts-and-all retelling of one man's life (so far.)
This book is recommended for older readers due to the graphic re-telling of the aftermath of the tsunami (grisly body parts discoveries, injuries and deaths) and the very liberal use of the "f-word" throughout. p. 90 "I'll never forget....." to p.92 "....away from the busy road." (Donny talks about the sight that greeted them when they walked into the Village.)… (plus d'informations)