All media
ABC Radio Melbourne
A ground-breaking new support group is combining boxing and writing to help victims of childhood sexual assault.
The founder of Left Write Hook, Donna Lyon, developed the project as mixed-method pilot, but was so successful she expanded into a full-fledged program.
Cinema Australia
National theatrical release announced for Shannon Owen’s Left Write Hook
Directed by Shannon Owen, in collaboration with boxing instructor and trauma survivor Donna Lyon – who also serves as producer on the film along with Sweetshop and Green – the documentary explores how the physicality of boxing combined with the emotional power of creative writing can create a space for survivors to release their memories, reclaim their bodies, and imagine new lives for themselves.
The Age
A child abuser taught Nikki to not resist. Boxing helped her confront her trauma.
“My paternal grandfather had a minimum of 10 other victims, over multiple generations; he was very good at manipulating people into silence and inaction,” she says. “I could not talk about things, or fight back, or take action. You had to sort of freeze, and that was where a lot of the trauma flowed from.”
The Guardian
‘People’s lives have been changed’: could boxing help child abuse survivors deal with trauma?
Left Write Hook, a unique support group in Melbourne, combines boxing and writing to help survivors feel empowered – and is the subject of a punchy new documentary.
Wag Tails
Dr Donna Lyon, Left Write Hook
In this episode, Megan and Donna talk about what happens in the program and reflect on their own engagement in creative writing practices and their embodied experiences of boxing. Donna shares some of the results of the program so far, seeing benefits like a reduction in PTSD and increases in markers of wellbeing.
University of Melbourne
Documentary co-produced by VCA lecturers to premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival
A documentary feature film co-produced by Senior Lecturers in Film and Television at the Victorian College of the Arts, Dr Donna Lyon and Dr Shannon Owen, will premiere at the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival.
Magic Hour
Left, Write, Hook with Dr Donna Lyon and Dr Shannon Owen
Director Shannon Owen and Producer Dr. Donna Lyon talk about the trials and tribulations of "Left, Write, Hook" a feature-length documentary about seven women who responded to a call-out to participate in an 8-week experimental recovery program.
The Project
Transforming Trauma: The Boxing Writing Workshop for Survivors
Just a few years ago, Donna Lyons founded Left Write Hook, a boxing and writing workshop, that is helping transform the lives of survivors of complex traumas, empowering them to take back their power.
Wyndham Star Weekly
Program to knock out trauma
There’s plenty of great writing about boxing, and there’s boxers who write, but the two pursuits are usually done independent of one another.
My Body Masterclass by Donna Aston
Donna Lyon PhD: her journey to heal trauma
Left Write Hook isn't your average charity. It stands out with its unique approach, combining physical training and creative expression to help women reclaim their bodies and narratives after sexual abuse. At the heart of this organisation is the indomitable spirit of Donna Lyon, whose own journey of resilience has inspired countless others to embrace their strength and craft their own stories of survival.
Left Write Hook: Boxing with the Boys
Donna Lyon, Claire Gaskin, Gabrielle Everall
Appeared in ‘Intersections of Sport, Society, and Creative Writing’, pp 159–173. Edited by Lee McGowan and Kasey Symons.
Screenhub
Learning by doing: documentary maker Shannon Owen on the VCA’s Master of Film and Television course
Shannon Owen is a producer, director, and lecturer in the Master of Film and Television at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), located in the University of Melbourne’s Southbank campus.
What I've Learnt with Donna Lyon
Documentary Left Write Hook follows eight female survivors of childhood sexual abuse who participate in a 2-year experimental recovery program that combines the physicality of boxing with the emotional power of expressive writing.
The program provides survivors of sexual assault a space to release their memories, reclaim their bodies and imagine new lives for themselves.
Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay Star Weekly
Healing with Left Write Hook
Donna Lyon is six weeks into her research-informed program, ‘Left Write Hook’ (LWH), designed to empower adult survivors of child sexual abuse to take back their power through expressive writing and non-contact trauma informed boxing.
Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay Star Weekly
Left Write Hook for trauma survivors
Donna Lyon is the founder of charity ‘Left Write Hook’, a research informed program designed to empower adult survivors of child sexual abuse to take back their power through expressive writing and non-contact trauma informed boxing.
The Trauma Therapist
Left Write Hook with Donna Lyon
Donna Lyon, PhD, is one of the amazing people! She's the founder and CEO of Left Write Hook – an evidence based boxing and creative writing program for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and trauma.
She is the editor of the book ‘Left / Write // Hook: Survivor Stories from a Creative Arts Boxing and Writing Project’ and producer of a documentary film that is in post production about the program.
University of Melbourne
Enterprising Melbourne
A Melbourne-based survivor-led social venture startup is offering innovative ways to help victim-survivors move beyond the debilitating trauma so many of them face in adulthood.