About the Event
- Join us for an author talk with the New York Times (NYT) Australian Bureau Chief and author of Into the Rip, Damien Cave.
- Damien Cave has worked for the NYT since 2004. He and his wife Diana were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting in 2008 with a team in Baghdad, when covering the Iraq war. Australian Bureau Chief since 2017, he’s travelled the country and interviewed many well-known people; he also covered the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand. He lives in Bronte with his wife and two children.
When: Sunday, 9 January 2021 at 3 pm.
Where: Newport Surf Club, 394 Barrenjoey Road, Newport.
Afterwards: The bar will be open so you can enjoy a drink out on the deck.
ALL WELCOME – THIS IS A COMMUNITY EVENT (All guests over the age of 16 wishing to enter the club must have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or have a medical exemption. Anyone under 16 can enter if unvaccinated but must be in the company of a member of the person’s household who is fully vaccinated).
About the Book
- When Damien Cave brought his young family to Sydney to set up the New York Times’ Australian Bureau, they encountered the local pursuits of Nippers and surfing – and a completely different approach to risk that changed the way they lived their lives.
- Damien Cave has always been fascinated by risk. Having covered the war in Iraq and moved to Mexico City with two babies in nappies, he and his wife Diana thought they understood something about the subject.
- But when they arrived in Sydney so that Cave could establish The New York Times’s Australia Bureau, life near the ocean confronted them with new ideas and questions, at odds with their American mindset that risk was a matter of individual choices. Surf-lifesaving and Nippers showed that perhaps it could be managed together, by communities. And instead of being either eliminated or romanticised, it might instead be respected and even embraced.
Raves & Reviews
‘Into the Rip is a beautiful tale of one family trying to figure things out – and, at the same time, a brilliant synthesis of a century of psychological science on how all of us can learn to dive headfirst into challenges, grow and adapt, and ultimately do well in life.’
– Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit
‘Damien Cave does an excellent job of deconstructing the phenomenon of trauma and risk to understand why some people are more vulnerable than others. His experience in war zones must have given him crucial insights into the topic.’
– Sebastian Junger, author of Tribe, War, Fire, The Perfect Storm.
‘The inspiring, hilarious story of how Damien Cave became a life-saver – only to find that the life he saved was his own.’
– Richard Glover
‘It often takes a stranger’s eyes to see our own country clearly. By plunging into the Sydney surf, Damien Cave peered into the Australian soul. What he found there – courage, grit, community – is welcome news when our lives and our core values have never seemed so precarious.’
– Geraldine Brooks, bestselling author of March and The People of the Book
‘Cave’s viewfinder – the notion of risk – is perfect for our times. He also offers the hope that one day, we will rediscover the necessity and rewards of looking outwards, of taking a few more risks again. (And does he get us? Yes, I reckon he does.)’
– Malcolm Knox
‘Into the Rip is an illuminating parenting guide, a takedown of America’s self-esteem industrial complex and a deep study of contrasts between the Australian and American minds. It made even a wimp like me consider heading into the sea.’
– Pamela Druckerman, author of New York Times bestseller Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting
‘Into the Rip is absolutely terrific. It’s a gripping story that gets the science of risk right. I haven’t seen any other writings about my work and the study or risk that are like this, integrated with a powerful story well told.’
– Paul Slovic, author of Perception of Risk, founder and President of Decision Research and Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon