Grace Tame has drawn a near-capacity crowd for the launch of a memoir exploring her fearless advocacy and traumatic experience of child sexual abuse.
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Hundreds of people filled Sydney's City Recital Hall to hear from the former Australian of the Year on Tuesday night.
"Every feeling I could possibly feel, I am feeling all at once," Ms Tame told the audience.
"One of my beliefs is that the real riches in life are the connections we make."
Ms Tame said tackling child sexual abuse was a difficult space to work in, comparing perpetrators to rock spiders and describing predators as calculating criminals who were quick to play the victim.
"What makes it worthwhile is the people you work alongside," she said.
Her memoir, The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner, examines the highs and lows of the 27-year-old's life.
In her own words, the book delves into how Ms Tame found the courage to speak about the abuse she endured as a schoolgirl in Tasmania and her determination to help other victims and survivors find their voices.
The mission propelled Ms Tame into the public spotlight and triggered a national conversation.
Ms Tame was named Australian of the Year in 2021 by a panel that noted she "demonstrated extraordinary courage, using her voice to push for legal reform and raise public awareness about the impacts of sexual violence".
It came after she led the fight to overturn a Tasmanian law that prevented sexual assault survivors, including herself, from telling their own stories.
Ms Tame said her autism and ADHD gave her a level of hyper-focus that proved useful for writing the book.
She said the memoir would have been 10 times longer if her editor had not convinced her to stop writing eventually.
The activist said her family were important in helping to produce the book, but jokingly hinted one member of the family did not come off as well as others.
"He deserves that, he's a prick," Ms Tame said, to laughs.
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Australian Associated Press
