What was your inspiration for writing Alfie the Brave?
The inspiration was my real, live, chicken-hearted hound Alfie. It is very funny to watch Alfie puff himself up when confronted with the most minor threat – like a bird walking past the back door! With my Australian of the Year message being around encouraging young people to challenge themselves more, especially in the outdoors, I felt that Alfie would be a great vehicle to send out a message which might help young people find their courage. That it is OK to be afraid, and that it is something we can work on.
How similar is your own dog, also called Alfie, to the character in this book? How are they different?
Sadly the only difference between the two dogs is that in the book, Alfie finally does do something brave! The real Alfie is still struggling to find his courage. But he does have other skills that I think are more important. He is a very sensitive and loving soul who is quick to recognise and comfort anyone in the family who is sad or upset.
How did you learn to overcome fear and be braver in your own childhood?
I struggled as a teenager to find confidence and believe in myself. Because of that, I acted out and found myself in trouble at school a fair bit. My passion for the ocean was something that really helped me. I was so lucky to find something I loved, and that became a focus for me which started my life of adventuring and enhanced my curiosity about the natural world. As I grew older, I realised that the best way to overcome your fears was to face them head-on, before they get out of hand.
What has been the best part about writing for children?
I love making kids laugh, and I love the way kids talk with such unfiltered honesty. Storytelling has become part of my job as an anaesthetist when I look after kids, and I measure my success by whether I can distract them sufficiently to make them fall asleep before the story has finished! They have to be entranced for that to happen! Anyway, I wanted to see if I could transfer that fun skill onto paper in book form. When I get positive feedback from parents who say the kids love it, that makes me happy.
What message do you hope children and families take away from Alfie the Brave?
Everyone gets scared but that’s ok. We are all different and we all find courage in our own way and in our own time. And most importantly, we can all be good at something… it just takes time to work out what that is. Be proud of who you are!
Buy a copy of Alfie the Brave here.
Richard ‘Harry’ Harris SC OAM is an Australian anaesthetist and cave diver who played a crucial role in the Tham Luang cave rescue. He and Craig Challen were jointly awarded 2019 Australian of the Year as a result of that rescue. Alfie the Brave is his first book for children. You can buy a copy here.
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