Blacktown

You can look back at the past, but don't stare . . .

In the tradition of 'A Child Called It' a raw and powerful true story of how a boy overcame a violent and terrifying childhood through the unwavering love of his mother - a true survivor.

'The screen door bangs shut. The silence that follows is like the collective intake of breath between the split second a guillotine falls and when it thuds home . . . Unable to get a clear shot, he rips the bed away from the wall. I scream as the first lick of the electric cord stings my back . . .'

Imagine a gaggle of little children sitting down to dinner with their mother when suddenly everything goes black. You can't see in front of you but you know you must hide. Daddy's home. He's turned off the power - and he's coming for you, any one of you.

As a boy Shane Weaver lived this nightmare every day. And this is where his story begins in 'Blacktown', a raw and powerful memoir of how a boy not only lived through, but overcame the life sentence such a terrifying start usually means - through the unwavering love of his mother, a true survivor.

Weaver becomes an angry young man who learns to channel his rage into boxing, going on to become an Australian champion. Haunted by his past, he embraces alcohol and drugs with a terrifying intensity, teetering on the edge of the criminal, violent world he grew up in.

One day, jobless, on the run with a wife and three kids to support, all his past lives collide to help him create an inspired application for a copywriting job. The result is a new start - and a whole new life. Best of all, he finds the love of a good woman who helps him rebuild his life.

Today he is the creative director of one of the world's biggest advertising brand names.