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In addition to being an Author, I serve as a Goodwill Ambassador for the South African non-profit organisation: CAMPIO Burns Group and a Director for the Exqisit Life Foundation (ELF).
I was born in Melbourne in 1965 and suffered horrific third degree burns at the age of 9 whist at a Christmas BBQ. It scarred 30% of my body including my face. Burnt Face tells my story of survival and how I overcame being bullied at school to become a strong and rebellious teen growing up in the notorious suburb of Broadmeadows, known for boisterous youth and gangs during the 70s and 80s.
I wrote this book because I wanted my children to better understand what I had gone through and to inspire other burns survivors, their families and carers.
I moved to Mackay with my parents and three year old son in 1991 to begin a new chapter in my life. I met my husband, Jason in 1992 and after a 12 month friendship we began a romantic relationship which continues to this day. I still live in Mackay with my husband and three grown children Shay, Reyan and Brydee.
Reviewed by Maria Victoria Beltran for Readers' Favorite
Burnt Face: Scarred For Life by Annette Swann is a memoir about a young girl who survived third-degree burn injuries that scar her physically and emotionally for the rest of her life. One of Annette's earliest memories is that of being a happy go lucky girl, living in a house in Thornbury, Victoria, with her parents, brother, aunts, uncles and cousins in her grandparents' house. When her parents were able to buy a house of their own, it is a happy milestone in her young life, but a Christmas barbecue tragic incident changed everything forever. Through no fault of hers, the nine-year-old suffered third-degree burns to 30% of her body disfiguring her face, chest, whole left arm, inner lower and upper right arm, the top portion of her left ear while her right nipple was completely burnt off. This is her story.
Annette Swann's Burnt Face: Scarred For Life is both horrifying and inspiring and it is not a work of fiction. Annette's life can be divided into two phases, before and after the burning accident. Descriptive, vivid and emotionally sincere, the author's writing style is rich in little details, so much so that the reader can easily relate to her. The story unravels on her fifteenth birthday when instead of a birthday celebration, she is recovering from yet another corrective surgery. Surprisingly, Annette Swann is not fishing for pity and there is only a tinge of remorse in the telling of her story. It is hard enough for a normal girl to go through her teenage years, but with a disfigured face, it surely takes a lot of courage and strength of character, and this is what shines through when you turn the last page of this book. An amazing story!
