“Sometimes there are no words, then there are words and they are terrible, and they are healing.“

I’m sharing with you the edited version of my radio interview on the ABC last week. It was a scary experience to be put on the spot to talk about this difficult subject, and a challenge to translate a novel of around 300 pages into a ten minute talk.

You can hear the interview by clicking on the link below:

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with  Lyrella Couzens

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Lyrella Couzens

Sometimes there are no words, then there are words and they are terrible, and they are healing

On Afternoons with Lyrella CouzensSha

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Back in 1950’s Australia there were no words to describe the wasting disease teenager Dina Davis was suffering. Today that disease is called anorexia nervosa. 

Treatment back then was ad hoc and cruel. “I do vividly remember watching another patient being given shock treatment and convulsing in front of me”. 

The Territory author has turned her personal trauma into the fictional novel, A Dangerous Daughter, which traverses the journey a teenage girl takes to discover what’s wrong with her. 

A powerful life story which Dina says comes with a warning, ‘it’s definitely not young adult fiction’. Duration: 11min 8secBroadcast: Thu 29 Jul 2021, 2:00pm

• 11mins 8secsSometimes there are no words, then there are words and they are terrible, and they are healing

ABC Radio DARWIN

Listen online, on the ABC listen app, on channel 25 on your television,via DAB+ Digital Radio or On Air on

• 105.7 FM

Or ask your smart speaker to “play ABC Radio Darwin”