
Something told me it was too good to be true the day my husband got the job offer he had been waiting for.
As he told me excitedly he’d been given a permanent position at one of Australia’s best-paying mines, I knew it was a dream come true for him. He’d been talking about this moment for years.
“Our money worries are over,” he said, excitedly.
“Yeh I guess so,” I replied, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of my stomach.
“It’s just that I was hoping you’d get a shorter roster. Two weeks away is a long time.”

Our first baby was just three months old.
“Just for a year,” he said. “Just to get my foot in the door. Then I can look around for something better.”
“Ok” I said. One year. It’s nothing.
Sure, in the beginning, it was exciting. When he was gone I would shop to fill the time. We moved to Perth from Cairns and rented a large, new home at a ridiculous price. We had a holiday in Bali. Bought a $3,000 fridge freezer. Ate out at expensive eateries. But it didn’t take long for cracks to show.
I had no family around for support and new in town, I knew no one.

Top Comments
Thats cute... try marrying a sailor... last 2 years i only saw my husband for 1 month and a half. Weve been together for 5 years and just got married on 7-1-17 our relationship is stronger than ever. I also have a 6 year old daughter to look after while hes gone
There are some really mean and judgemental comments here. The author has opened up to us about the problems her family have experienced with FIFO working. Other people will have different experiences but it doesn't mean you should belittle the author. FIFO work has an incredibly high rate of suicide, mental illness and divorce. Don't shut the conversation down
Thank you guest, you've nailed it here... The root issue for society to look at is why sooo many suicides amongst young males in our society, a statistic that is sky-rocketing (not to mention the rising mental health and depression that will ultimately sink our health funds). This article offers a personal inside view to some of the possible reasons of one aspect of the working world that clearly hasn't got it right (one suicide is surely one too many...) and might well be taken more seriously. After all telling men to shut up, deal with it and get on or get out only aggravates the fact that men are increasingly feeling desperately lost, with seemingly nowhere to turn.