The Full Catastrophe

Stories From When Life Was So Bad It Was Funny

It happens to the best of us, those moments when we think nothing could get worse, days when if we didn't laugh, we'd cry. It happened to Sarah Macdonald. One day, when Sarah was telling her friend Rebecca Huntley the latest intimate and disgusting details about death and disaster, Rebecca started to laugh. She laughed because it was all too much. She laughed at the horror. She laughed because it was so ridiculous, there was nothing else to do. It was from this healing laughter that The Full Catastrophe storytelling event and hugely successful podcast was born.

Now for the first time in print, Rebecca and Sarah have gathered a hilarious and moving collection of stories. Well-known Australians from all walks of life share their tales as a kind of mass therapy; a feel-good tonic for when the proverbial sh*t hits the fan. Whether it's a domestic drama, career cockup or just a run-of-the-mill disaster, The Full Catastrophe is here to remind us, no matter how famous or ordinary you are, we've all been there.

From Annabel Crabb's tale of Russian interference in the birth of her first child to Kate McClymont on how to manage mobsters, or Frank Moorhouse on the worst possible Valentine's Day to Emma Alberici on moving to London with three small children, these entertaining tales of woe reassure us that this too shall pass.

Rebecca Huntley is one of Australia's best-known social researchers. She has a PhD in politics, three children and goes to bed at 8.00 pm most nights. She is a writer, broadcaster and the presenter of The History Listen on ABC's Radio National every week.

Sarah Macdonald is an author, facilitator and presenter of Weekend Nightlife on ABC Radio. Her bestselling memoir Holy Cow is still travelling the world more than she is. She has two teenagers and a dog and goes to bed at 2 am.

The Full Catastrophe
Hardie Grant
Editors: Rebecca Huntley and Sarah Macdonald
ISBN: 9781743795453
RRP: $32.99