Short description
Three weeks after Christmas 2001, an ostensibly wealthy Cape Town estate agent bludgeoned his wife and three children with an axe, dowsed the bodies of his two sons and their sister with petrol, set them alight and shot himself.
Long description
Three weeks after Christmas 2001, an ostensibly wealthy Cape Town estate agent bludgeoned his wife and three children with an axe, dowsed the bodies of his two sons and their sister with petrol, set them alight and shot himself. Shocking and brutal as it was, Tony Adlington's 'final solution' to domestic and financial problems soon became just another family murder, one of far too many that occur each year. But for Debbie Adlington, who astounded medical experts by surviving three massive blows to the head and clawed her way out of a coma, unimaginable grief and months of therapy, the events of 16 January 2002 marked the end of life as she knew it. More than three years later, Debbie found a new reason to get out of bed in the morning. Thanks to the wonder of modern medicine, she gave birth to a baby girl and was able, once again, to be a mother, to know the joy of nurturing and loving another human being. In sharing with Gerda Kruger her story of immeasurable loss and a brave new start, Debbie Adlington offers a candid and unique perspective on famicide. As one of the few survivors of this pre-eminently South African phenomenon, she is able to chronicle the tensions, problems and behaviour that could help others to recognise possible danger signals before tragedy strikes.
At the same time, Debbie's painful journey to recovery serves to inspire those who have suffered great loss, underlining the hope and reassurance that there can, indeed, be life after death, however horrendous the circumstances.