Episode74 Tara Lal
from Shaw Show Podcast Hosted by Paul Shaw
Tara Lal lost her dad to mental illness, her mum to cancer and her brother to suicide, while she was still only a child. She is the author of Standing on My Brother’s Shoulders – Making Peace with Grief and suicide; a memoir that tracks her journey through a childhood scarred by this trilogy of tragedies. The book tracks Tara’s subsequent struggle to make sense of her life and to find peace and meaning. Today Tara is a full-time firefighter with Fire & Rescue NSW, a Mental Health First Aid instructor and has previously managed the psychological wellbeing program in Fire & Rescue NSW where she worked with researchers at the Black Dog Institute to develop programs aimed at building resilience and improving mental health outcomes in firefighters. She is a registered Physiotherapist and a speaker for the mental health charity Beyond Blue. She shares her life story through speaking and writing as a way to reduce stigma and build understanding and awareness of mental illness, grief and suicide whilst also offering hope to anyone facing adversity. Most recently Tara has embarked on a PhD at the University of New England focusing on the impact of cumulative exposure to suicide on Firefighters.
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