The Sanctuary
A Story Exploring Different Responses to Stress Set in a Health Resort in the Tasmanian Wilderness
by
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“After having imbibed fully on some excellent Tasmanian wines, and warmed himself before the log fire with what was emerging as some pretty convivial colleagues, many of whom shared similar but not identical issues, Tom had no difficulty at all in sleeping heavily in the very comfortable bed provided. He awoke the next morning to the sound of a prolific chorus of Tasmanian birdlife. He got up, put on his slippers, and stumbled across to the full length curtains. He opened them up with a flourish, cleared away the condensation on the internal windows, and looked out onto the clearing in front of the wilderness. Then, he staggered back in shock. There, right in front of his window was the tall man with the heavy frown and nervous twitch who had been pacing up and down in the Residents’ Lounge when he first arrived. He had hanged himself, and was dangling in the wind from the platform twenty feet up the massive King Billy pine in the middle of the clearing. Sick at heart, he staggered to his wash-basin and was violently sick He reeled away from the wash-basin, splashed cold water all over his face, and drank a large glass of iced water. He shook his head, and tried to think straight. What the hell was going on? He guessed he had led a fairly protected life, but he had never before seen a dead man, nor come face-to-face with suicide. What to do next? Instinctively, he dressed quickly, and went down the corridor to the exit at the end. As he came to the end, he bumped into Bill, who was just about to go for a morning jog. “Bill,” he said, “ come with me and look at this. You’re never going to believe what’s happened here”. With that, they both staggered out into the clearing and headed for the King Billy pine. “My God!” said Tom, “He’s gone! You’d better believe me, Bill, I looked out of my window two minutes ago, and there was the tall guy with the frown who was pacing up and down in the lounge, hanging from the platform on the tree there. But now he’s just disappeared. Just a minute, come and have a look. Yes, you can still see where the rope was hung over the platform, and the chair was standing before it was kicked away. And there are lots of footprints in the hoar frost here, leading to the tree, and then away in that direction. Let’s follow it.” They both followed the footprints for some distance towards the one and only garage, where the one and only four wheel drive was parked. As they approached, the Range Rover burst into life and raced off down the rough track into the distance, and disappeared into the mist. “What the hell’s going on here, Tom?” said Bill. “Are they trying to hide something or not? Was this suicide or murder? I can think of thousands of questions and no answers. All I know is that we’re totally stranded in the middle of the Tasmanian bush with a dozen people we don’t know, all of whom are stressed out to hell anyway. There’s been a suicide, or a murder, and a cover-up. What else is happening here, and what else is likely to happen? We need some answers, and we need them now!’
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About the Book
Nine professionals and executives are frustrated by the shattering of their dreams through the unforeseen forces. Each is currently feeling burnt out and has retreated to a health retreat in the Tasmanian wilderness for a week, in order to come to terms with the difficult choices they have to make.
They have many similarities:
—They are all in their thirties. —They have all been highly successful in their life and career to date. —They have all been recently overpowered by events, with circumstances beyond their control. Their dreams now lie shattered. —They are all, therefore, subject to severe stress.After a snow blizzard cuts them off from the outside world, they are left to work things out for themselves. Events quickly spiral out of control after a suicide on the first night, swiftly followed by a tragic murder. Emotions run high, and feelings that are normally hidden in the private mind soon erupt to the surface.
Eventually, they elect a temporary warden, and he is initially successful in bringing things back to seeming normality. However, the pressure-cooker atmosphere soon reveals further underlying tensions, and the book explores differing reactions to the complex events that unfold.
In the totally unfamiliar circumstances, some discover inner strengths they never knew they had, some uncover emotional needs which they seek to fulfill, and some cannot cope. In one week, all are challenged by great tension and, in some cases, a resolution of their deepest fears and concerns. For some, new and lasting emotional relationships are formed. For others, complex career issues are clarified, but some lapse into a crisis of confidence.
For all, it is an unforgettable week, which changes their lives forever—some for better, some for worse. No one remains unchanged.
About the Author
James Outhwaite was born in England, and gained an MA majoring in English literature at Queens’ College, Cambridge. This was followed by postgraduate studies in business administration at Bristol before he immigrated to Australia in 1966. He then undertook several further studies in organizational and applied psychology and diagnostic profiling.
His fifty-year career has been split evenly between corporate executive life and management consulting. He was a human resources executive in three multinational corporations based in Melbourne before switching midcareer to management consulting and specializing in career counseling, executive coaching, and team effectiveness. His clients have been multinational corporations, professional service firms, large corporations, and individuals throughout the Asia-Pacific region, which he has traveled extensively.
In the nature of his work, he has been deeply involved in stress counseling and in mentoring executives and professionals, which gave him the experience and inspiration to write this book in the hope that (in addition to providing a good read) it may help its readers to manage the increasing stress, which we all encounter in our lives, with more confidence.
James has been married to his wife, Tatiana, for forty-five years and is the proud father of two children and four grandchildren, who live in Salt Lake City, USA, and in Sydney, Australia. In England, he lived in Warwickshire and Wiltshire. In Australia, he initially lived in Hobart and, since 1971, in Melbourne. He describes his main hobbies as golf, yoga, bush-walking, music, travel, and bridge.