Survival stories: punches and prose unearth the write stuff

Left Write Hook, winner of the MIFF 2024 Audience Award, is a knockout documentary that leaves you in awe of its strength; The woman at the centre of it every bit more so, Writes Matthew Parkhill. Content Warning: References to Incest and Child Sexual Abuse

Donna Lyon is a doer. 

An activist; senior lecturer; filmmaker; author; CEO and founder of a not-for-profit recovery program for adult child sexual abuse survivors, Lyon radiates strength. 

Her program combines the physical — boxing — and the cerebral — writing — in a unique program called Left Write Hook (LWH), now the subject of a documentary of the same name.

Left Write Hook, directed by Shannon Owen and co-produced by Lyon, premiered at the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival, with Lyon, 44, thrown into the spotlight for her development of the program. 

Her work with survivors of child sexual abuse–herself one–has sparked a conversation, with one in four Australians counting themselves survivors, according to the National Office of Child Safety. Now, she heralds groundbreaking research into trauma recovery through her program.

It’s fair to say she’s a pretty badass woman.

“I’m a woman that likes to take action.”

Dr Lyon grew up in Perth, WA, attending a Catholic coed school and taking drama classes. At seven, she loved acting but didn’t find filmmaking until transferring to Hollywood Senior High where she took media classes.

“In some ways, I probably thought I was going to become an actor,” she wryly comments. “...I struggled to be vulnerable because it was linked to my trauma, unbeknownst to me; Unfortunately, my trauma just sits there in my life as this blocker, and that has radically defined me.”

Lyon, centre left, talking at a Melbourne University Boxing event about the physical and mental health benefits of boxing. Photo: Matthew Parkhill

In Lyon’s professional career, she’s mostly worked behind the camera “getting shit done.” While at high school in Perth, she produced and occasionally directed films with her friends, jumpstarting her passion for cinema.

“...I was making crappy horror films and taking my friends from church to an abandoned warehouse I’d stumbled across, and breaking into locations and filming really shit horror–American style scripts you know?”

By 21, she was producing a telemovie and a feature film--and after a brief, overwhelming stint in London--she moved to Melbourne at 22 to finish a postgraduate diploma in producing.

For Lyon, she prefers films that make you think. She quotes “Bicycle Thieves” (1948) by Vittorio De Sica as a favourite, and director Ingmar Bergman (Seventh Seal) comes to mind for thoughtful storytelling. As an indie producer, Lyon has had the benefit of picking the projects that interest her.

“I’ve always had leadership qualities,” she says. “I think they’re wonderful characteristics–I wish more people were like that–my problem is that I don’t know how to slow down.” 

In a way, her constant “doing” kept her away from herself; When she pictured the LWH program as a documentary, she knew it required the participants–herself included–to broadcast their stories.

“I think I am interested when there’s a deep vulnerability on the screen… and I knew that [deep, visceral feeling] was inherent in our workshop.”

“But I knew I had to put myself on the firing line if I expected that vulnerability from others.”

Lyon only discovered she had been sexually abused as a child in her twenties, talking to another survivor at a party. Her memories of the trauma had been locked away, and she spent years in therapy after rediscovering her pain.

At 32, she hit rock bottom suffering from addiction. 

“There was a lot of pain and [I was in] real darkness for many many years. Sometimes it’s still there. But, I rebuilt my life over 12 years, and I think that’s incredible… Of course, at that time, if you had told me it was going to be 12 years I would have been like ‘No, it must happen now! I want the magic pill!’”

“But step by step, doing the PhD, getting stable employment, all of these things–my life, I got it together.

Left Write Hook is a documentary about people on a recovery journey. As the participants start a chorus of thuds into the punching bags, Lyon shouting "The bag can take it!" their warcry, the power is electric.

For director Shannon Owen, she's known Lyon for a decade as a friend and colleague at the Victorian College of Arts. Owen was moved by the LWH workshop's combination of emotional writing and powerful physical trauma recovery.

“When I talk about the first experience of visiting the left write hook program I often speak about what I felt… The vulnerability and anxiety of the shared writing and then the catharsis--a sense of release and empowerment when the group took to the bags--it was a very moving experience, and it's been an incredibly satisfying journey working to translate these feelings into the film.”

“I've always known Donna to be something of a powerhouse of energy, however being privy to her recovery journey across the last 5 years I have watched Donna take this to the next level.”

Lyon started LWH in 2019 by herself. She had been boxing for two years and she was reclaiming her life, something therapy had not fully accomplished. The more she boxed, the more she remembered her abuse, and the more she understood about herself. 

In 2020, Lyon had researchers study the program’s benefits on participants’ mental health, with results that earned praise from leading trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk; Symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression lowered in all participants. 

Lyon next to Melbourne University Boxing president Joel Leifer. Photo: Matthew Parkhill

Looking into the camera hasn’t come easy for Lyon, despite her childhood dreams. In filming, she received the care she used to give actors as a producer; She also has seen a very vulnerable part of herself captured by the camera.

“All of a sudden, I was taken care of… At the same time, watching the viewing and [my] relationship with the camera has become quite distorted,” she says.

“Right now, I’m in the process of hating it… It’s seen me, and it feels violating.”

Over 4 years of production, Left Write Hook will bring Lyon’s work to cinema screens come October. The slow process of reopening old wounds and carefully stitching them back up with power and prose is an inspiring creation from a creative and driven woman.

Dr Donna Lyon believes she is a lifelong learner, and her time in front of the camera hasn’t stopped her from considering a future film project. Her strength doesn’t come from a lack of fear; Her bravery comes from learning to take a punch or two.

“I probably am that person that learns through pain,” she says of her trauma.

“In reality, I am grateful for experiencing a lot of adversity and inner pain… I think it’s really at the core of humanity.”