A note from Bush Doctor author Damien Brown

Read a note from Damien Brown, the author of Bush Doctor.

A few years ago, I wrote a book about the time I’d spent working in Africa, in part because 300 pages was the shortest reply I could give to ‘What was it like?’ There were too many fascinating people; too many heartbreaking moments countered by uplifting or jovial ones, often at the same time; too many contradictions and nuances. That book ended here, with my first trip to work in Central Australia. In the years since, I’ve worked in many outback towns and communities and I’ve wanted to continue the story. But how to even begin? Most of it isn’t mine to tell. I’m forever the outsider with my biases. And for all the amazing people I’ve met there—strong, proud, open and warm, despite difficult circum- stances—the response elsewhere is cautious: ‘Another book? Great! Oh, set mostly in remote Australia? Yeah, nah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.’

Our backyard is tricky. It’s far easier to talk about other places.

But whether I write about my experiences or not, this is where I work, and this is what I do every day. And I love it, for the most part. There’s a price to pay, though.

As with much of life, there are few tidy beginnings or endings. There aren’t many simple, neat stories that’ll make for a nice narrative arc or illustrate a straightforward point. Things here are rich, and complex, and beautiful, and troubled, so I may as well start here, on the road as I come back with fresh eyes after a long break overseas. I need to get this down, because for reasons that’ll become clear, my time here may be limited.

First, though, some disclaimers. This book was written after the fact. Mistakes or misrepresentations are my fault alone, and I hope that they’ll be received in the spirit this is intended: a respectful telling of a bigger story. All events are true, to the best of my recollection, but some names, descriptions and details have been altered to protect confidentiality. The name of the town where much of this takes place has been changed to refer to the region instead, and timelines adjusted for privacy and ease of reading. The year when much of this is set has also been obscured. Language has been rendered as it sounds to my ear—beautiful, rich and idiosyncratic—which I hope is how it’s perceived, and words such as ‘blackfella’ and ‘whitefella’ are used as I hear them in communities: commonly used descriptors, not loaded terms.

I’m mindful of the following as I write, and I hope that this is conveyed throughout: luck, good health and privilege have played a large part in my life, but many patients I meet are from different backgrounds and in difficult situations. When things get tricky in the places I work, I can leave. The people I work with often can’t. Please consider this a content warning, too. Things can sometimes get difficult.

Anyway. I’d best get there.

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Bush Doctor

by Damien Brown

The author of the bestselling Band-Aid for a Broken Leg comes home and discovers that being a doctor in outback Australia is at least as challenging as working for Medecins Sans Frontieres in Africa.

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