Identity Denied

Denny Donaghy’s life was influenced by external world events in ways he could never have imagined. He was born in Victoria, Australia, in the middle of the infamous Black Tuesday stock market crash and the ensuing depression. He subsequently grew up in a crowded terrace house with seven and sometimes more adults and their children, abutting similarly impacted terrace homes. He wasn’t yet 10 when WWII broke out and family members left to serve. From a young boy his dream was to play league football with the Carlton Football Club and he had worked his way into the Carlton Colts when his father decided to relocate his family to a farm on the other side of Australia. In Western  Australia, after playing several league games with the Perth Football Club, Denny have up on his dream and refocused his attention on sport in general, his growing family and religion. Then one fateful night in 1962 he had an altercation with the police; ended up in jail and then hospital and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. The remainder of his life reflects the impact this horrible illness and its treatment had on Denny and those who loved him.