Beach blowout brings Brendan bouncing back  

Brendan Lauritz is bouncing back.  

Brendan, one of our regulars and keenest supporters, crashed a couple of years ago when the financial investment wave he was riding tuned into rolling, sand-swirling monster for not only him, but also his family and friends; they dumped him.

Since then, Brendan has been living in a tent at the caravan park at Main Beach.

“When the project we’d all sunk or money into fell through, I was suddenly alone, divorced. No home, no money, no friends, no nothing,” he said.

“It was a culture shock.

“I was in a god-awful state but that park is god’s own place; beach across the road where you can watch the sun come up each day.

“One day I was on the beach. Crying. Banging the sand. Saying ‘this can’t be happening to me!’

“I was physically, mentally and emotionally drained.

“I sort of hunched over and flopped, which seemed to release the tension. I found myself in a meditative state, where my mind was free.”

Brendan used the beach meditations to get himself together.

“I had been crying out for someone to show me how to make it out of the hellhole of hopelessness but there was no-one; only me.,” he said.

“Then I got to meet lots of people in similar circumstances for lots of reasons.

“They help themselves by helping each other, even if it’s a cigarette, a feed, someone to talk to or just a smile.

“I realised that sometimes you have to lose everything to see how much you really have.”

Now Brendan’s a man on a mission.

 "I'm on my way back,” he said, proudly waving an advanced copy of his book Working Backwards: From Miser-ee, to Destin-ee, to Happy-Me.

“It evolved from the realisation that I’d have to work out how to escape (from the situation) by myself.

“I’ve written down all my experiences and my journey in the hope it will help someone else, give them the strength to keep plodding through the darkness until you can see the daylight.

“I’ve got heaps of ideas, some of which I’ve outlined in my book.

“Where I am today, or tomorrow, is a new beginning.”

Brendan’s son, Jack, who has just complete dYear 12, did the design work on the covers. “He hopes to do graphic design at uni,” a proud Brendan said.

Brendan credits Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning as the most inspirational book he’s read.

“It’s a tribute to hope arising from the Holocaust,” he said.

“Haven’t’ seen it at the Street Library yet! Perhaps you can keep an eye out for a copy.”

It’s on our watch list, mate.

Brendan also mentioned his tent needed repairs, so the Gold Coast Homelessness Network – which runs the Street Library – arranged for the Homeless Outreach Support Team to take him shopping for a new one.

“Thank you. It’s a beauty, unlike my old one which was a ripper, er, ripped,” he said. “Now I can sleep knowing my home is snake proof!” (The Main Beach sand dunes are notorious for harbouring brown snakes)

“I use to my old tent to store my books, which gives me extra space in my new abode.”

Brendan’s book Working Backwards: From Miser-ee, to Destin-ee, to Happy-Me – ISBN 978-1-4567-8921-3 – is available from authorhouse.co.uk

BELOW: Brendan Lauritz proudly shows of his book at the Street Library table at Southport