At 23 years old, Stephanie Browitt willed herself to stay awake long enough to survive a volcano eruption on New Zealand's Whakaari / White Island. More than six years later, her resilience and sanity remains as strong as ever.

The rescue mission to White Island in November 2019 was led by three civilians, who immediately flew from the mainland, as the emergency services deemed the island too dangerous for their trained paramedics to get there.

Stephanie clung on to consciousness, despite severe burns to 70 per cent of her body, because she knew she had to get back to her beloved mum, Marie.

The blast killed 22 people, including Stephanie's little sister Krystal. Eventually their father Paul also succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

During the early stages of Stephanie's fight to recover, her sister's fate was kept a secret to give her something to fight for.

After dozens of operations, years of physical therapy, grieving the sudden loss of half of their family, and growing even closer to her mum, Stephanie decided together wither her mum, Marie, to take on the cruise company that allowed them to go to this island despite knowing there was a warning in place.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Eliza Kirsch.

It explores natural disasters, survival, grief, death, burns recovery, Turia Pitt, memoir, writing, books, mother daughter relationships, ICU, coma, body positivity, resilience, heartbreak, family bond, love, stories of survival, incredible stories, grief, death, losing a father, big sister, losing a sibling, sisterly bond, Melbourne, cruise ships, near death experience.

To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Surviving White Island and what happened next — Stephanie Browitt's story

Conversations

Surviving White Island and what happened next — Stephanie Browitt's story