Collective Conviction: The Story of Disaster Action

Citation

Katherine Davies (2015), "Collective Conviction: The Story of Disaster Action", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 122-122. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-02-2015-0006

Collective Conviction: The Story of Disaster Action is not only a monograph which explores the creation and development of the Disaster Action Group, an umbrella organisation which seeks to offer support, guidance and advice for survivors and “victims” of disasters but, it is also a provider of pragmatic advice. The text successfully achieves its primary function in portraying “The Story of Disaster Action”, by exploring and charting its developments though its achievements and goals by using the narrative voices of its members. While knowledge is passed to the reader though this style, it is a combination of the notes, appendix and bibliography which provides the supporting material to make this an educational text.

Whilst the group itself is as broad and diverse as the topics it explores (with members who have been affected by Zeebrugge, Hillsborough, Marchioness, etc.), so is the methodology used to explore this. Eyre and Dix have structured it carefully in a way which integrates and balances the case studies, stories, tables and photographs into a more often than not seamless narrative allowing the reader to engage with the writing in an emotive way. As a result of this, it has allowed the exploration of controversial topics such as inquests, suicide bombers, legislation and the role of journalists in disaster reporting, to be handled in a sensitive way. Two noteworthy examples include: Disaster Action’s engagement with the police over Management of Disaster and Civil Emergency (MODACE), and Disaster Action members taking part in the 2008 research project; “Public Information and Disasters: A Report of Consultation with People Directly Affected by Disasters […]”. Both of these have been humanised and made accessible to the reader making it simultaneously engaging and informative.

However, it is important to remember that while the text is well referenced, that, due to the topic and the configuration of the text it is not without some bias, this is particularly important as disaster management is a highly poignant topic in light of the recent aviation disasters. Consequently, I would suggest that this text may be well placed to offer some support and guidance to people affected by disaster, and as a tool to educate and inform those who have an interest in this field.