Book Foreword
John Gordon, formerly of the law firm Slater and Gordon and a prominent advocate of asbestos disease victims, has this to say about Shattered Lives in his endorsement of the book:
The scourge of asbestos disease is a modern plague in Australia. It has its dark side – the reckless and uncaring attitudes of the corporations like James Hardie and CSR that caused it, and then sought to avoid the consequences– and the pain and desolation it wreaks. But it also has another side – in the courage and dignity almost universally displayed by its sufferers, in the inspiration provided by the love and devotion of their families, in the heroism of those that care for them and fight for them in the medical and nursing professions and in the Asbestos Diseases Society, and in the determination of their lawyers to achieve justice for them. This book uncovers both sides of these horrific diseases in a sympathetic, yet stirring account. Australia needs to understand asbestos diseases like mesothelioma, its victims – working people and their families - its causes and effects a whole lot better. This timely book inspires such an understanding.