Lech Blaine on ‘Car Crash’: First Book Club

‘I wanted to dig into the complexity of an event like that, and allow people to see not just the humanity of the people involved, but also the negative aspects of how these events play out.’

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For May that debut is Car Crash: A Memoir by Lech Blaine, out now from Black Inc.

At seventeen, Lech Blaine walked away unharmed from a car crash that killed three of his friends and left two in comas. In the aftermath, rumours about speed and drink driving erupted. There was intense scrutiny from media and police. Lech used alcohol to numb his grief and social media to show stoicism, while secretly spiralling towards depression and disgrace. This is a riveting account of family, friendship, grief and love after tragedy. Heartbreaking and darkly hilarious, Car Crash is a story for our times.

First Book Club host Ellen Cregan spoke with Lech about the book, revisiting past trauma and the power of brutally honest feedback.

Editor’s Note: This conversation touches on difficult topics such as death, grief and trauma.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Production assistance from Lloyd Pratt.

Further reading:

Read Ellen Cregan’s review of Car Crash in our May Books Roundup.

Lech spoke to Bri Lee in 2017 about the process of writing a memoir in your twenties.

Lech recommends Rick Morton’s My Year of Living Vulnerably: Rick shares his workspace and writing practice for Show Your Working.

Buy a copy of the book from Brunswick Bound.

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