Roma Flood, from the Gold Coast, has penned a novel about her experiences as one of Australia’s most unlucky residents
A woman whose daughter was stabbed to death before her husband and granddaughter died in a plane crash has relived her life of tragedy.
Roma Flood, from the Sunshine Coast, has penned a novel about her experiences as one of Australia’s most unlucky residents.
Ms Flood lost her mother as a teenager and was hit with grief again in 1996 when her daughter Danielle was brutally murdered in Sydney’s northern beaches.
‘I lost my mum when I was 16 and then my daughter when she was 22,’ Ms Flood told Daily Mail Australia.
‘She was horrifically murdered at Dee Why in Sydney when she was on holidays.
‘Her two children were kidnapped by the murderer.’
Ms Flood’s said her daughter’s alleged killer was not found guilty because he was of ‘unsound mind’ and remains detained in the health system.
Pictured: Ms Flood’s husband Bernard (left), daughter Danielle (right) and her granddaughter Lysinda (centre). Bernard and Lysinda died in a light plane accident in 2007
Ms Flood lost her mother (pictured) to ovarian cancer as a teenager
Following the loss of her daughter, Ms Flood and her husband Bernard cared for their grandchildren Lysinda and Jesse.
But Ms Flood’s bad luck struck again.
‘My husband and I flew up my two grandchildren, my daughter’s two children,’ she said.
‘And then in 2007, both my husband and my granddaughter were killed on impact in a light plane crash off Kings Beach.’
Their ultralight plane spiralled into the ocean, about two kilometres off the beach in Caloundra, killing Lysinda, 13, and Bernard, 53, instantly.
‘I’ve had a life of tragedy and grief but I’ve come through,’ Ms Flood said.
Amid Ms Flood’s excruciating battle with loss, she decided to put pen to paper so she could help others struct down by grief.
She was hospitalised twice while writing the book, Despite the Odds, but says the difficulty of reliving her past had an important purpose.
Lysinda (pictured) died shortly after this photo was taken in a light plane crash in 2007 with Ms Flood’s husband
Pictured: Lysinda and Bernard. Their ultralight plane spiralled into the ocean, about two kilometres off the beach in Caloundra
‘It was pretty difficult having to relive it but my inspiration was to key the keys out there to help others,’ she said.
‘To make what I have gone through have some sort of purpose.’
Ms Flood found an unlikely companion in award-winning actor Liam Neeson when he crossed paths with the Sunshine Coast woman’s phenomenal story.
The Taken actor shared a post on Instagram about losing his wife a decade ago and how her organs are keeping three people alive today.
Ms Flood commented on the post, explained her story and that she understood what he was going through.
‘He responded in a private message,’ Ms Flood said.
‘I asked him whether he’d consider endorsing my book I’d just written and he just replied ”yes”.’
The actor ‘honoured’ what he said by reading the book and then wrote an ‘amazing’ endorsement.
Neeson lost his wife Natasha Richardson following a skiing accident in 2009.
Ms Flood found an likely companion in award-winning actor Liam Neeson when he crossed paths with the Gold Coast woman’s phenomenal story
Amid Ms Flood’s excruciating battle with loss, she decided to put pen to paper so she could help others struct down by grief
Ms Flood describes Despite the Odds as simple, tangible strategies that help anyone to overcome any sort of tragedy.
‘I have shared every day tangible strategies and they’re simple keys but they’re successful keys in all that I’ve learnt to move forward,’ she said.
‘They’ll help people through any sort of tragedy, loss or grief.
‘It could be loss of a pet, moving house, losing a job. All of that produces grief in different forms.’
While Ms Flood said the book offers successful keys, she also stressed the importance of a support network in overcoming loss.
‘I’ve been very fortunate I’ve come through it and I do have faith, that has been an inspiration for me,’ she said.
‘Also family and friends and the support of everyone has been amazing. I’ve had that all the way through with all the tragedies. Endless support.’
Ms Flood’s book is available for purchase with special pre-sale price on her website, where she also writes about grief in her blog.
Ms Flood describes her book (pictured) as simple, tangible strategies that help anyone to overcome any sort of tragedy