My new book is now available for purchase. If interested, please go to

https://revoltbooks.com/

You might prefer to listen to large parts of it in these episodes. I add extra commentary at times but endeavour to stay close to the original book text. In this reading, I share about my experiences as a young girl and how I now understand much of my childhood as being about broken-heartedness caused by lovelessness. I suggest that where there is violence then there is lovelessness, one is the breeding ground for the other. In this way I lay the foundations for a different meaning of love and how violence can undercut and compromise it.

Watch out for further podcasts of the subsequent chapters that build towards an articulation of what a theory of love involves and why it is so urgently needed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

My new book is now available for purchase. This is so exciting for me as its the culmination of what I have learnt from being a social worker for nearly fifty years. It interweaves my pertinent personal and professional experiences with a critical analysis of some of the wicked socio-political issues of our time. The purpose of this exposition is to show how I’ve come to understand love as multi-faceted ethics and capacities to address the causes of broken-heartedness. Lovelessness is the main cause of broken-heartedness. When people, other animals and Nature experience lovelessness it takes a range of forms of violence and injustice.

Broken-heartedness is addressed by love, nonviolence and eco-justice practices. A number of personal essays show how I take responsibility for causing broken-heartedness as a social worker. As well as showing how I have been broken-hearted and what I’ve done to pivot on the pain and loss towards love.

This first podcast introduces the book and provides a reading of part of the first chapter. Follow along with subsequent podcasts - coming soon - to listen to almost all of the book, interspersed with occasional additional commentary.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

Michael Burbank is a mental health lived experience trainer. He speaks of his own life lessons from his journey through heartbreak and loss to a compassionate and relational approach to his teaching. The people he engages with in the classroom will go on to help others who grapple with their lives being interrupted by mental ill health. The podcast begins with a poetic statement from Michael that sets the scene for a grounded, insightful philosophy of love and relationships being at the centre of community. Through connection with others love is felt and heartbreak can be healed.

Michael’s candid and reflective views of what matters will resonate with listeners. He is humble yet exudes personal integrity. Further, his willingness to have honest conversations with himself is an inspiring example of how to love of ourselves. Then Michael explains how he pays love forward in the world one person at a time as he seeks to be present and of service.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

At the time of writing his book in 2012, Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish, was a Palestinian physician who specialised in infertility issues caring for both his own people in Gaza and Israeli people. When Israeli soldiers killed his daughters and a niece, he chose not to hate but to dedicate his life to peace and justice. His story at the time was a powerful call for ceasing war and violence through love, forgiveness and justice. It remains relevant today.

Abuelaish has been referred to as the Martin Luther King of the Middle East. Fourteen years after the loss of his family, he continues to work for peace through the Daughters for Life Foundation which provides scholarships and support to young women to gain an education. He believed peace will come when women and girls are listened to as they are the culture builders and want to raise their families in peace.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

Johnathan Link is a descendant of the Kuku Yalinji Tribal clan group from the Daintree River region in far North Queensland. He also has connections to Marble Bar in WA through his grandfather and family ties in Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island).

Johnathan grew up in Brisbane. He is a father and grandfather. Johnathan’s mental health career started in 2003 with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Cairns and is currently working for Queensland Health on the Gold Coast with the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Service. He explains why a yes outcome in the referendum is a moral baseline for First Nation People of Australia to know justice and self-determination.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

Peter is a social worker and community development practitioner at Nambour Community Centre.  Peter works directly with community members to facilitate connection, relationship and participatory action. He integrates his inclusive approach into his work with some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our communities, reflecting his belief that community-driven responses are crucial to a just society.

Peter describes his practice as ‘based on the concepts of the love ethic and connectedness. Love is the underpinning value of how I try to be in the world – love defined not as emotion but as holding all beings in positive regard and actively working with people towards growth and well-being. Love sets a high bar for practice, one which I do not always attain. Also central to my practice is the realization that all beings are connected and that we thrive when we are in reciprocal relationships with each other. My practice is also informed by Critical Theory, care-based ethics, intersectionality, Anti-Oppressive Practice and Eco-Socialism.’

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This is the first episode of my sub-series called Revolutionary Love Stories. I am interested to know what other people think about love and how it guides their work. I am joined in this episode by Wallea Eaglehawk who is the CEO of book publishing company Revolutionaries, author of Idol Limerence, and also is my daughter. We talk about all things love, revolution, and BTS.

You can find out more about Wallea and her work by visiting her website www.walleaeaglehawk.xyz and reading BTS Not Guaranteed at www.walleaeaglehawk.substack.com.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

This podcast gives an account of Dr Dyann Ross' experiences from a childhood of mining impacts on her family, other people, places, and Mother Nature. Filtered through her own connection with or disconnection from Mother Nature, sometimes referred to as the environment, this podcast details devastating, compounding losses and harms that extend far beyond human communities. You will hear the story of Mother Mango Tree as part of this personal yet very political account. The podcast is dedicated to Mother Mango Tree and all her relations, including us all.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com

I've previously argued that the use of seclusion and restraint in Mental Health facilities is a moral wrong even though it is legally sanctioned. It is very harmful to the person who is secluded and coerced and can increase, not reduce, violence on the ward. This offering explores best practice research for how to act to stop the use of these restrictive practices. I identify 5 ward-based strategies for enabling systems and workplace cultural change and a community-based approach called Open Dialogue. 

There is a wide path for practitioners and anyone who wants to practice with revolutionary love which involves being loving, nonviolent, and just in our actions.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelovetheorist.substack.com