In One Lifetime

 I                                                               In One Lifetime

by Graham Forlonge

 

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GENRE: Non-Fiction - Autobiography

 

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BLURB:

 

This book is an autobiography of a man who had over 50 mostly major PTSD events in his life. It recounts the trials, struggles, and lessons learned over a life span of 67 years. It recalls his childhood, time as lifesaver, police diver, police driving instructor, member of SWOS, professional NRL footballer, running Police Citizens Youth Clubs (PCYC), Security Manager of the world renowned Porgera Gold Mine in PNG and world record holder of going around Australia in under 10 days on a motorcycle. The events accounted whilst a police diver as well as a Highway Patrol Officer includes plane crashes, train accidents, body recoveries and numerous fatal road accidents, some of which are major historic events in Australian history. It also includes native raids, murders, abuse and many more traumatic events while working in PNG. Some of the accounts are captivating and others highly emotional. His life and determination to succeed was mostly driven as a result of having been sexually abused over many years at the hand of his tutor as a child. It is a true Australian story and displays considerable endurance and survival skills.

 

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EXCERPT 

 

I had a few months to fill in before my induction into the Police Academy, so I took a job as a bouncer at the Strata Hotel in Cremorne under the guidance of Greg Norton, a former professional boxer! Greg was a big, strong guy and I learned a lot about security from him in those months, which helped me in my first couple of years in the police force: crowd control, breaking up fights, removing unruly people from the premises, etc., but most of all I learned about communication. My ability to communicate saved my backside many times in the years to come, as will be evident in later chapters.

 

I also had the pleasure of playing with Greg’s brother, Brian (Chicka) Norton, with North Sydney Bears and against him when he was at St George. Like Greg, Chicka was big and strong; a tough player, but a real gentleman off the field.

 

There have also been funny sides to fighting and I would love to share this story. Mick Healy, being the good old friend he is, would not let me get into too much trouble by myself, well should I say he would always lend a helping hand to get me out of trouble that I got myself into. Mick and I went to school together, played junior football together and progressed into North Sydney Rugby League together, I regard him as my longest and best friend. One night at the leagues club after a game that we had lost, the reserve grade coach, Chow Hayes, was copping verbal abuse from a couple of the A grade Junior league players. They were pointing at Chow and poking him with their finger while yelling abusive comments at him. I saw this and walked over to stand by Chow just in case something happened. These players were older and bigger than me so Mick also started walking over to see what was going on. One of the players focused on me and started yelling, “Yeah, you suck eggs too, Forlonge, you pussycat!”

 

Big words coming from a big mouth! I hit that big mouth and, of course, that started an “all in” fight in the sports bar. It was progressing nicely until Mick decided to join in. He picked up one of their players and threw him over the bar counter and into the shelves loaded with bottles and glasses on the other side. The fight stopped immediately and everyone just turned and looked at Mick. With his hands lifted up in front of him in a questioning way all he could say was, “WHAT?!”

 

I grabbed him and we made a very hasty exit along with all the other fighters. Nothing was said about the fight for weeks.

 

I think everyone, except for me, was still in shock at Mick’s strength. He is a very strong man!

 

 

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Graham Forlonge is a father, footballer, policeman, diver, security officer and the author of IN ONE LIFETIME.

 

In the 5-Star Review from IndieReader C.S. Holmes writes, "In the memoir In One Lifetime by Graham Forlonge, the author experiences murder, plane crashes, mine explosions, and more...on his way to healing from PTSD...Graham Forlonge’s memoir In One Lifetime is an expansively honest and brutally detailed submersion into aspects of trauma that left the author with a lifelong case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and is most touching when detailing his healing process."

 

It took 10+ years to write his memoir. Now, Graham works as a part time counselor for the underprivileged.

 

Connect with Graham Forlonge

 

Website https://grahamforlonge.com/ 

 

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19974143.Graham_Forlonge 

 

Get your copy of In One Lifetime                   

 

AMAZON.COM https://amazon.com/dp/0228823358 

 

AMAZON.CA https://amazon.ca/dp/0228823358 

 

AMAZON.COM.AU https://amazon.com.au/dp/0228823358 

 

BOOKSHOP https://bookshop.org/books/in-one-lifetime/9780228823353 

 

INDIGO CHAPTERS https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/in-one-lifetime/9780228823377-item.html

 

BARNES & NOBLE https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-one-lifetime-graham-forlonge/1136260442

 

BOOK DEPOSITORY https://www.bookdepository.com/In-One-Lifetime-Graham-Forlonge/9780228823353

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

Graham Forlonge will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway