Australian Journalist Reveals Her 'Luck Has Run Out'

Adele Horin, a recently retired Australian newspaper journalist whose career included a stint as New York correspondent for The National Times, has shared some heartbreaking personal news this week via her blog. The lung cancer first diagnosed and treated in 2014 has returned: I want to say it’s unfair. I never smoked; I’ve been too much the ‘good girl’ all my life. But the lung cancer detected in 2014, operated on and treated with chemotherapy, has raged back. The prognosis is poor. I hope for miracles and I look at Clive James with hope. Whatever happens, I’ve been so lucky. But right now dear readers, I’m too sick to continue to write the blog. Maybe I will be able to re-start it again. But if not, I want you to know what a privilege it has been to be part of such a thoughtful community. I valued your comments and your following. You’ll still be able to access my writing and readers’ comments from the past two and a half years at the same web address. FishbowlNY joins the many colleagues and readers who have already expressed their sympathies with regards to the 64-year-old blogger facing a renewed battle against the disease. Among the letters sent to the Sydney Morning Herald is this one from Jennifer Briggs: I was so sorry to read of Adele Horin's misfortune. I met her 30-odd years ago when she was a young journalist and writing a report on Australia's first community mental health crisis team, of which I was a part. I think that there has been little "luck" in what she has achieved. I have never forgotten her – I was impressed to see that a busy journalist would take so much time and care to thoroughly understand a complex topic and to correctly represent what we were trying to do. Now again I find myself admiring Adele for her amazing grace and courage in the face of great personal adversity. Horin's reference to Clive James relates to the fact that after being diagnosed in 2010 with leukemia and "limited time", the Australian poet and novelist has been able to outlast that prognosis with the help of a new drug. Update (Nov. 22): It is with great sadness that we must update this item. Horin passed away Saturday; tributes from her colleagues are pouring in: Peter Fray, former editor-in-chief of The Sydney Morning Herald: "Adele possessed one of the best developed bulldust detectors in Australian journalism. Passionate without being sentimental, she had an unrivaled capacity to be empathetic and yet still serve and seek the truth. She wrote about social issues with unflinching clarity and honesty, never maudlin or self indulgent, always well-argued and evidenced based. I celebrate her professionalism and commitment to journalism as a force of social change. Her columns were a must-read. She faced cancer in the same way as she had so many of life’s injustices: by looking it straight in the eye and telling it how it is. Australian journalism has lost a great role model in Adele." The Herald has culled a collection of her work for the paper here. RIP. Big stars at the big newspapers don't always treat junior researchers + digital staff as equals. Adele did. Vale. https://t.co/4GrFog9xnz— Kimberley Porteous (@brontegirl) November 22, 2015 Adele Horin was a truly wonderful human being and embodied the best of journalism https://t.co/ELGROZfaFz— Matt O'Sullivan (@Mattonews) November 22, 2015 I admired her so much...Writer Adele Horin dies after battling cancer https://t.co/wkYG7rSGmd via @smh— Lenore Taylor (@lenoretaylor) November 22, 2015

Fishbowl

Australian Journalist Reveals Her 'Luck Has Run Out'

Adele Horin blogs about the return of her lung cancer.

Richard Horgan

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Richard Horgan