Episode 4
A Mother’s Love
Out at sea, Chris tapped out his life in messages. As a boy in Brisbane, his dad mostly gone, he lived with his mum in a house where men drifted in and out, and stress settled on him early. His mother began crossing lines—kisses that weren’t motherly, suggestive hints, attempts to pull him into her bed—until fear and confusion knotted inside him. She never had s** with him, and at twelve a stroke of luck saved him: his older sister arrived, saw enough, and took him home. Years later, when his mother called, he told her why he’d left. They never spoke again. He saw her one last time in a hospital bed and forgave her. The past echoed on: he kept people at arm’s length, avoided intimacy, didn’t have s** until much later, and never had kids, though he longed to protect and love a child. Still, the sea, small pleasures, and hard-won honesty steadied him. The narrator ends by honoring Chris’s courage—wishing him the love and peace he deserves for telling a story so many struggle to say aloud.
Narrator: Gus Worland
Gus Worland - RADIO & TV PRESENTER
Family man. Friend. Sports fan. Founder. Australian radio host and TV personality Gus Worland is the driving force behind mental fitness charity Gotcha4Life. Gus set up the not-for-profit foundation in 2017 to help people develop the emotional muscle, resilience and social connections needed to build mental fitness and prevent suicide.