Kathy Kelly

Ralph Kelly

On a winter's night in July 2012, Kathy and Ralph Kelly received a phone call no parent should ever have to answer. It was the Emergency department of a Sydney hospital, telling them that their eldest son Thomas had been in an altercation and that they were to come at once. Thomas had been coward punched by a total stranger within two minutes of getting out of a taxi in Kings Cross, on his way to a private 18th birthday party of a friend. Two days after that first phone call Kathy and Ralph were told that their son had suffered catastrophic head injuries resulting in brain death. They were advised that there was no other option but to switch off his life support. He was 18 years old. In the aftermath of their son's death, Kathy and Ralph became the public face of the campaign to end the drunken violence that plagued Sydney's major nightspots. Along with Premiers Barry O'Farrell and Mike Baird they helped institute the lock out laws that have been a major factor in the reduction of alcohol related deaths and injuries in Darling Harbour, Kings Cross and Sydney's CBD. They were also instrumental in creating Take Kare Safe Spaces ('Kare' with a 'K' after Thomas's initials) for young people in key nightspots, which has now registered over 52,000 interventions since December 2014, what the Kellys call 'sliding door moments', the difference between a young person's life continuing on as normal or degenerating into something terrible. And they were one of the driving forces behind the introduction of tougher sentencing for 'coward-punch' deaths. But their campaigning created a huge toll on their family. Online intimidation, death threats and false news about the mishandling of donations came from those with a stake in the clubs and businesses who were the lock out laws financial losers. When Stuart Kelly, Thomas's younger brother, went for his first night at University of Sydney's St Paul's College, Ralph and Kathy believe the bullying he experienced because of the family's profile was so traumatising he left university for good the next day, and wouldn't tell his parents exactly what he'd been made to endure. Five months later, on July 25th 2016, Stuart took his own life. This book is the Kellys' story. How they coped with one unimaginable tragedy, only to find that it had sowed the seed for another. How in the face of these terrible losses they have found the spirit and the drive to campaign first for a safer environment for all our children, and for a greater understanding of young people's self-harm and its drivers.

How a family turned its own tragedies into a remarkable crusade to keep all our children safe

Too Soon, Too Late

Bernard J. Mohr

Jane Magruder Watkins

Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition of AppreciativeInquiry offers OD and HR professionals a user-friendly resource fordiscovering how they can tap into the power of the AppreciativeInquiry (AI) process. An innovative process, AI is an effective wayto work with a company as an organic system whose success dependson a holistic approach to connect that organization's human,technical, and organizational functions. This new edition meets the challenge of making the AI processaccessible and updates three key areas of the process: thetheoretical basis, fundamental assumptions and beliefs, and thebasic processes. It includes step-by-step guidelines on how toapply AI in a variety of organizational situations and shows how itcan be used with a wide range of initiatives, such as coaching,leadership development, strategic planning, and teambuilding. "If there's one book to read on AI, this is it. It provides thecontext and rationale for this paradigm changing approach to changeat any level of system. Buy it, read it, use it and enjoy achievinggreat results and renewed energy and enthusiasm." —Barbara Sloan, director, Organizational Developmentand Learning, New York University, Langone Medical Center "Appreciative Inquiry brings the freedom and creativity of AItogether with the 'nuts and bolts' of how to actually do it all. Itcontains everything I would want to have as a fresh practitioner,from potential designs to sample questions and excellent CaseStories." —David Shaked, founder and CEO, Almond Insight, UnitedKingdom "This book serves as a complete roadmap for those interested inthe philosophy and practice of Appreciative Inquiry. The CaseStories encourage readers to find their own way on the journey byproviding examples of successful interventions." —Terry Egan, professor, Management Studies, PepperdineUniversity

Ralph Kelly

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