Welcome to Everyday Heroes the show that's all about you. This episode is an interview an all round phenomenal woman and the UK's leading authority on emergency planning, Lucy Easthope,
Lucy's way of being is one that allows her to show up as her full-fat self in situations where many of us are reduced to rubble. From her own journey, navigating the devastation of miscarriage to her expertise in disaster planning, Lucy looks into the dark places and shines a torch bringing hope to those wanting a way through and home. Her work has taken her all around the world, advising on chemical spillages, volcanoes, fires, floods, and terrorist attacks. She has lent her expertise to operations around the 2004 tsunami, the 7/7 bombings, the Grenfell fire, and most recently, the British response to Covid-19. With the current invasion of Ukraine, her work has become even more relevant and pressing, as she focuses on the needs of the displaced, the traumatised, and the bereaved.
Stop reading now and order her new book, "When the Dust Settles"! It's an incredible read where Lucy shares her candid, unsettling, and sometimes darkly funny account of a life spent planning for and dealing with the aftershocks of catastrophe. Her highly specialised role often takes place behind closed doors, and as she notes, "We are a Cinderella service, sweeping up below stairs." Among her early jobs was preparing for returning bodies from Iraq after the invasion by coalition forces in 2003. She was given the task of building a mortuary that could house thousands of corpses, some of which might be contaminated with chemical weapons.
Throughout the episode, Lucy shares her insights and insider perspectives on situations that most of us will only ever experience via news reports. She is excellent on these small yet significant details, providing a window into the drama, surreal twists, and mysteries of the disasters she has encountered.
Lucy's work may sound dark but she herself is a refreshing, insightful, funny, compassionate, human-first Everyday Hero! Enjoy hanging out with us in this episode.
