"If you've never read poetry before, do yourself a favour read this. Incredibly moving, painfully honest, and deadly accurate. Shaun Austin tells it like it really is, in service and its aftermath, and provides a pathway to hope." Tony Park, veteran and author




We're not alone in our pain, despite how it may feel

And we can live to find joy again if we take the chance to heal

Although we all must leave our service, our purpose or our tribe

It can be a new beginning, where we focus more on life



I welcome you to join me, on this mission here today

To share each other's stories, so we all find the way

Forget the preconceptions of what poetry can mean

It can alter your perceptions of a world that can't be seen



This book is my own story, but it calls to many more

Of the soldiers that go lonely, to a life beyond a war

We lose them all to suicide, depression or to pain

To Post Traumatic Stress, or to guilt they can't sustain



It doesn't have to be like this, a war within themselves

Our tribe can band together, to recover them from hell

We'd never let our mates down, in the middle of the fight

Well, they are out there calling, from a battle in plain sight



"By writing and publishing this book, In Plain Sight, Shaun Austin will save veterans' lives. His poetry and reflections on each poem are selfless, insightful, and articulate. If every veteran, family member and everyone who has ever loved them, who has ever struggled with their mental health, could be as brave and authentic as Shaun in this book, every veteran's world would be a better place. Reading this book will help many of them achieve that. Thank you, Shaun." Lieutenant General John Caligari AO, DSC (Retired)



About the Author


Shaun Austin speaks from the heart to share his experience with pain, suffering, and suicidal depression to help others see they are not alone. Shaun left home at 15 and struggled at an early age to find a sense of purpose and belonging to overcome his pain. After eight years in the Australian Army, he was medically discharged and confronted once again with his past and the challenge to find meaning. His poetry is an expression of this journey and the way to find purpose through our pain, so we can live a fulfilling life after service.
Shaun now works for a robotics an artificial intelligence company as a Systems Engineer making robotic platforms to help save lives in Defence.