‘[Waiting for Elijah] will appeal to readers of Helen Garner and Chloe Hooper … [Wild] explores her subject with great depth, compassion, and sensitivity … Essential reading.’
Books+Publishing
‘Kate Wild's Waiting for Elijah is brave, balanced, and profound; wrestling with the fatal police shooting of a young mentally ill man, Wild reveals a compelling investigation into mental illness and the police on the frontline of psychosis. A beautiful writer, Wild's Waiting for Elijah is a thrilling debut.’
Anna Krien
‘Wild’s prose is evocative and personal … [she] tells us about herself because she wants us to understand what underpins her obsession with the case, as well as to convey the emotional impact that such intensive reporting can have on the reporter … She conducts an equally frank tussle with the moral issues of writing a story that belongs to so many people. “Whoever spoke controlled the narrative,” she writes of the family’s openness and Rich’s avoidance; her words also speak to the whole complicated business of journalism as well.’
The Saturday Paper
‘[Waiting for Elijah] covers many issues: our expectations of police, the differences between civil and criminal cases, the reliability of eyewitnesses, the stigma still surrounding mental health and the inadequate resources of our mental health system ... Wild’s writing is an effective mix of journalistic professionalism and human, spontaneous reaction. We feel her disbelief and frustration, especially at the obstacles placed in the way of getting to one side of the story. Most importantly, Wild uses the case to look at mental health more broadly.’
Readings
‘[A] forensic dissection of the crime scene with equal parts compassion and a hawk-eye for detail … [W]hat unfolds beneath the atmospheric retelling of the shooting is a deeper discussion into how society perceives and reacts towards mental illness … a totally immersive treat for non-fiction and fiction lovers alike … We recommend Waiting For Elijah unreservedly.’
Better Reading
‘Wild’s personal story, though, brings a depth to her investigation, and she doesn’t grab for any easy take-home messages. Instead, she probes the complexities of the issue, and reaches finally for a kind of forgiveness – for the policeman who shot Elijah, but also, perhaps, for herself.’
Adelaide Advertiser
‘It combines her professional virtues with something viscerally personal and holds the two aspects in tension throughout. The result is taut and episodic.’
Weekend Australian
‘The real achievement of the book is Wild’s lyrical flair, a rare trait in a news journalist. Wild describes her mental illness as an agony that ‘would fall like a piano from the sky, unannounced and crushing’.’
Australian Book Review
‘At its simplest, Waiting for Elijah is an exploration of the devastating effects of a police force ill-equipped to deal with mental illness. Wild’s personal story, though, brings a depth to her investigation, and she doesn’t grab for easy take-home messages. Instead, she probes the issue and arrives at a kind of forgiveness — for the policeman who shot Elijah, but also, perhaps, for herself.’
Courier Mail
‘This book is many things, it’s a tense crime thriller, unravelling the story of a young man’s death and subsequent investigation of the events. It‘s a superb piece of reportage, bringing Kate’s 4 Corners rigour to a profound social ill — the fraught interaction between policing and mental illness. It’s a novel of place evoking the interiors of court rooms, the landscapes of country NSW and the author’s former home in Darwin. And then as if you haven’t got enough for your money and decision to read Waiting for Elijah it springs another surprise, raw and moving elements of the author’s personal story interlaced with the other characters.’
Sarah Ferguson’s Launch Speech
‘On the surface Waiting for Elijah is an investigation into the shooting of a mentally ill young man, but author Kate Wild also raises important questions about the adequacy of police training and the detrimental effects of mental illness on society … Her investigation of the case is comprehensive and she is fair and balanced in her criticism of the NSW Police Force despite Rich’s refusal to give evidence at the inquest on the grounds that it might prove he had committed an offence.’
Sydney Morning Herald
‘Waiting for Elijah blends both Wild’s professional values and personal experiences, and ties them into an overarching analysis of how medical and legal systems can fail some of society’s most vulnerable … Wild’s book doesn’t jump to any conclusions; instead, she invites audiences to look a little deeper.’
Sunday Territorian
‘In this thought-provoking, beautiful and devastating piece of journalism, Kate Wild follows the court case and asks: how can we stop this from happening again?’
Readings ‘Best Crime of 2018’
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