Left Write Hook
in the media
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The Burne
Survival stories: punches and prose unearth the write stuff
Donna Lyon is a doer. An activist; senior lecturer; filmmaker; author; CEO and founder of a not-for-profit recovery program for adult child sexual abuse survivors, Lyon radiates strength.
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The Medical Republic
Boxing, writing can help survivors of trauma and abuse
After years of battling with the list of symptoms linked to her abuse, Dr Lyon undertook a journey that resulted in the development of Left Write Hook, a research-informed eight-week boxing and writing workshop for adult survivors of child sexual abuse and other complex trauma.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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Screenhub
Left Write Hook review: survivor documentary stings like a bee
Donna Lyon and Shannon Owen's Australian film documents the physical and psychological healing journey of eight women who have experienced sexual abuse.
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The Conversation
Boxing empowered me to express my trauma – now, I help other abuse survivors do the same, combining it with creative writing
"I felt drawn to boxing, its visceral nature. The prospect of hitting someone in the face and maybe even knocking them out excited me."
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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.
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Primer Magazine
Inside The Gym Helping Survivors Fight Back
Survivors of violence are fighting back thanks to a unique programme blending boxing and writing.
The unique programme was founded by survivor Donna Lyon, who calls it “a creative and physical approach to dealing with trauma”.
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If.com.au
Screen Australia announces $4 million for 13 documentaries
Subjects ranging from the Australian Open tennis tournament to the country’s LGBTQI+ history will be explored in the latest round of documentary projects to receive production funding from Screen Australia.
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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.
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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.
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Screenhub
Producer Donna Lyon fights to honour sexual abuse survivors
Left / Write // Hook started in the aftermath of Lyon's 18-month journey into competitive boxing.
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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.
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Screenhub
MIFF 2024: Australian films
With MIFF poised to return from 8 to 25 August, here are the Australian films you should be adding to your watch list.
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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.
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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.
Podcasts
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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 program supports survivors of childhood sexual assault by addressing both the physical and emotional impacts of trauma through a unique combination of boxing and creative writing. What begins as an 8-week program soon becomes much more as these survivors build bonds with one another and with their coach that lead to transformations they could only have dreamed of.
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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.
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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.
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Roll with the punches: 1 in 3 Women, Let's Talk About It
1 in 3 women experience sexual abuse, that's what Dr. Donna Lyon told me in this conversation. (congrats on the shiny new PhD Doc)
Donna and I met recently and in some ways we both felt at times like we were sitting in front of a mirror. Hearing our story relayed to us as someone else told it as their own, in a way. So very similar, so very different.
Two women who had been the 1 in 3. Two women who had suppressed it beyond awareness and acknowledgement until the seam holding it all in ruptured and no longer could it remain hidden.
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Conscious Combat Club: Left Write Hook with Donna Lyon
Donna Lyon is the Founder of LEFT / WRITE // HOOK. A multi-modal creative arts research project and documentary designed to help women who have experienced sexual abuse and trauma find a connection to their body, mind and spirit through weekly transformative writing and boxing workshops.
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Published... Or Not: Donna Lyon and Fin J Ross
'Left/Write/Hook' is an anthology of works generated in Donna Lyon's writing workshop which is giving voice to victims of abuse.This year Fin J Ross won the highly prized trophy from the Sisters in Crime. Her short story ‘Tuesday Jocks’ is one of the winning stories in ‘Scarlet Stiletto: The Fourteenth Cut’.
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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.
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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.
Left / Write // Hook: Survivor Stories from a Creative Arts Boxing and Writing Project
Scholarly publications
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Left Write Hook: Boxing with the Boys
Donna Lyon, Claire Gaskin, Gabrielle Everall
Appeared in ‘Intersections of Sport, Society, and Creative Writing’, edited by Lee McGowan and Kasey Symons
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Left / Write // Hook: A mixed method study of a writing and boxing workshop for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and trauma
Donna Lyon, Shannon Owen, Margaret S. Osborne, Khandis Blake, Bruna Andrades
Published in International Journal of Wellbeing 10 (5): 64-82
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Writing + Boxing = Left / Write // Hook
Donna Lyon, Claire Gaskin, and Gabrielle Everall
Published in TEXT 26 (Special 67): 1–18
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