You Are Not Alone
Sydneysider Michael Egan contacted Black Dog Ride to offer up a song he had written for the Ride to the Red Centre. Like many involved with Black Dog Ride, he has experienced a rocky road and has come out the other side of a tragic pathway with renewed hope and an urge to help others.
Michael Egan migrated to Australia as a 7 year old, and was bullied physically and verbally for being 'different'. His Dad was away a lot and the role models in his life were mainly alcoholics. Michael's life has been touched repeatedly by the tragedy of suicide, many of these suicides exacerbated by drug and alcohol abuse. He says "had we recognised the signs and been able to educate them…we may well have been able to prevent them going down that road."
At the end of a long tortuous path "that can only be described as hell", and having lost everything, Michael managed to turned his life around and started a business as an entrepreneur inventing surgical instruments, a portable shower unit, an e-tag holder for motorcycles and many other products. Michael also speaks at mental health seminars and would like to start a new initiative for people suffering from mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse called You Are Not Alone (YANA). He reiterates that it is "imperative that people contemplating suicide need to be able to converse with others feeling the same way, to understand that they are not alone."
Michael wrote the song "No Life for the Living", performed by The Band of Mercane, "to try to reach out to the younger generation in a format that they recognise"
From left, The Band of Mercane's, Mick Paish, Tiny, Kayla Kettly, Mick Egan, Chris mouse middlemiss
Without further ado, here's The Band of Mercane's "No Life for the Living":
We sincerely thank Michael and his band mates for their generosity in sharing their passion with Black Dog Ride and allowing Black Dog Ride to use the song. With one suicide in Australia every 4 hours, and an attempted suicide every 10 minutes, Black Dog Ride encourages initiatives which can help people become aware that they are not alone, that there is hope, and there is help out there.
We welcome all feedback about Michael's journey and The Band of Mercane's song 'No Life for the Living' here.