Escape by intellect has long served him. Cultivation of the mind, at the expense of emotion, has long been his narcotic. But now that path is as lethal as the most potent drug or alcohol. Far from insulating him, excessive self-reliance has made him dangerously vulnerable. Arriving in Sydney Australia after fleeing the war in Yugoslavia, he is outwardly safe at least. Now it is the subjective snipers with which he must contend.

Pam Stavropoulos is an Australian writer, researcher and therapist.