Today Toowoomba kicked off the Year of Reading with a roller coaster of emotion. This morning I attended a promotion for the 2011 Flood anthology ‘BATTERED but not BEATEN’. The presentation was held at the Toowoomba Library. Several speakers were people who survived and or risked their lives during the devastating January floods last year and listening to the first hand accounts of what people endured on that fateful day held the audience mesmerised. With eyes swimming in tears these extraordinary Australians told personal stories bringing me to tears one minute and laughter the next. A truly humbling few hours.

The presentation was perfectly organised by the Toowoomba Library and congratulations must go to Breanda Cross who put all her vivacious energies into getting this book published. Congratulations also to The Association of Writers at Work, Inc. Toowoomba who took on this task. The room was full of atmosphere with poignant banners and continuous images on a large screen reminding us that when ‘mother nature’ is at her most furious she is unstoppable.
Excerpts were beautifully read from the commemorative book ‘Battered but not Beaten’ flood anthology which was officially released at the end of 2011. For more information about this fabulous book, you can go to the ‘Battered but not Beaten’ Flood Anthology Facebook page for more information.