In Danger: A Memoir of Family and Hope

‘In Danger is much more than a breast cancer memoir - though it covers that territory eloquently and courageously. It is also an insightful meditation on the push and pull of mother-daughter relationships, on what we inherit through blood and example. At once gentle but unforgiving, the book uses the mirror of art, particularly literature and music, to paint hard, exhilarating truths. Both younger and older generations of women will be drawn to its energy and honesty.’ - Kristina Olsson

Josepha (Josie) Dietrich is an English emigrant to Australia. She lives in Brisbane in the home that she and her partner built on passive-house principles. After coming out of a long reign of being a carer, she’s worked as a research assistant for universities on projects to improve psychiatric discharge planning and women’s wellness after cancer. Her prior long-term work was in the After Hours Child Protection Unit, assessing children’s risk of harm alongside the Sexual Offences Child Abuse Unit of Victoria Police. To remain sane during this period, she flitted off overseas for months at a time to climb cliff faces while sleeping on beaches or in abandoned shepherds’ huts. After her cancer treatments finished and in light of her experience caring for her dying mother, Josie joined the advisory committee of CanSpeak Queensland as a cancer and consumer advocate.