My intention is simple – to take the reader on the same journey I took, and have them experience the real truth of it. This book is for me, my family, the Falconios, for Pete – and for anyone who has been the victim of violent crime.’
Most Australians have heard of the murder of Peter Falconio and the attempted abduction of Joanne Lees on a quiet stretch of deserted highway in Central Australia in mid-2001. The media reported the case in sensational detail and its focus was often not on the man convicted of murder but on the woman who escaped him.
Joanne has a unique and moving story to tell – of the events of that terrible night, through the gruelling process of the police investigation, and the traumatic time of the trial, where she had to re-live so much. And she tells of the continuing effects on her life, on her family’s life, and the Falconio family’s life. Joanne Lees wasn’t killed that night – but from the moment she and Peter stopped their Kombi on the Stuart Highway her life was changed forever.
No longer content to be a silent victim, Joanne Lees reclaims her life from other storytellers. This book is her story – of what happened that night, and in the years that followed; and how she is facing the future.
