My personal mission is to help people build resilience and lead fulfilling personal and professional lives. I am a passionate advocate for those who suffer from anxiety, depression and the effects of trauma. The success of my books has given me the opportunity to speak to many different organisations about trauma and recovery. My goal is to continue to add my voice to removing the stigma which has been too long attached to mental health.
Keith Banks is a best selling author, public speaker and coach. He believes that people can thrive through connection and encourages the destigmatisation of the conversation around mental health.
Each of us is touched by trauma at some level. Once we understand how to accept and deal with that, we can create happy and enriched lives for ourselves and become better people, partners, employers, employees and contribute positively to the world around us.
THE STORY BEHIND MY BOOKS
I had a police career that was not the norm. I never wanted to sit behind a desk or spend time in a suburban police station doing the mundane duty that comes with that. I have utmost respect for police that do that job, but it was never for me.
You should be careful what you wish for. During my service I experienced years of incidents of violence and death and this changed me. The idealistic young man I had been was gone forever. I struggled with the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for over 30 years and still have some dark days. A major part of my recovery has been writing my stories and sharing them with thousands of people via the team at Allen and Unwin Publishing.
My books are not heroic, but they are raw and authentic. I hope they will help people gain a better insight into the world of law enforcement and understand that cops are human and, like everyone, can be drastically affected by what they experience. I hope I have done justice to the memory of those many police who served for all the right reasons and have paid the ultimate price.
Without the thin blue line, we are at the mercy of those who would prey upon us. For that reason, I will always bleed blue.
These two are the best first person true crime books of that era in Queensland that I have read.” - Matthew Condon, Author of Three Crooked Kings
“Banks has told his story in a raw and honest autobiography. It is the best true crime book published in Australia in a decade.”
— John Silvester, Crime Reporter for The Age on Drugs, Guns and Lies