Ben Apfelbaum

JELENA DOKIC : FEARLESS

Jelena Dokic attended a book signing at  Dymock’s  recently with a long queue of fans waiting for her book to be signed and hopefully organise a photo of themselves with Jelena.

The book deals broadly with vulnerability and overcoming low self esteem to be a triumphant voice for those who feel helpless and lost.

How do you find hope when all is lost? How do you find strength when you feel broken? How do you find your voice when you feel worthless and scared?

In Jelena Dokic’s first bestselling book, Unbreakable, the former world No. 4 revealed her incredible survival story; how she overcame adversity, poverty and violence to rise to the top of the tennis world. Jelena’s revelations about her father’s shocking abuse stunned the world.

Her new book FEARLESS  is about how you reclaim life when all feels lost. It’s about learning to reach out for help and healing. It’s about speaking up and the power of sharing our stories. In past years Jelena has dealt with disordered eating and reclaimed her body; she has stood up to body shaming and online abuse. She has faced her mental health demons head-on to find stability in the chaos of life. She has endured a devastating relationship breakdown.

This book is about starting at the bottom and building yourself back up. Jelena opens up on how she has survived trauma and heartache to establish herself as a leading tennis commentator and motivational speaker.

The past years have taught her many tough and important lessons, and now she is ready to share them to help you find your voice and the power to thrive.

Jelena Dokic’s FEARLESS is available now and has been published by Penguin Australia.

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.