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Run For Your Life is the remarkable true story of a family forced into hiding after leaking Russian secrets – a tale so astounding and bizarre, it’s hard to believe it’s not fiction.
It has all the elements of a thrilling novel with a man, his wife and their two children fleeing from Russia after falling out with one of the most powerful men in the country, the one-time deputy to the all-powerful Vladimir Putin. They flew, carrying just hand luggage to avoid suspicion, to London, but alarmed by how powerful the Russian oligarchs were there, they hid in a hotel until they could get on a plane to one of the furthest countries from Russia: Australia.
After chilling death threats, the Strides – British man Nick, his Russian wife Luda and their two children Michael and Anya – applied for political asylum in Australia, a quest that became even more urgent when Nick whistle blew on his former boss at the Kremlin. But then, threatened by the Australian immigration authorities with deportation back to Britain and Russia, they decided to do whatever it took to keep their family together.
And that meant ‘disappearing’ into the remote wilds of Western Australia’s Dampier Peninsula, one of the world’s final frontiers. For more than three years, the little group battled snakes, crocodiles, tornadoes, fires, hunger and thirst to survive.
“Run For Your Life is one of the most incredible stories I’ve ever heard,” says author Sue Williams. “And it’s ironic it came out just as Putin ‘won’ an election with an alleged 87.8 per cent of the vote for another six-year term, and soon after the death of his main rival Alexei Navalny. The courage of this little family in the face of almost insurmountable odds is simply amazing.”
Publishers Simon & Schuster say, “This was the first time that Nick Stride and his children Michael and Anya shared their harrowing story of being on the run in the remote Dampier Peninsula of Australia, after receiving death threats from Russian henchmen.
“There has never been more attention focused on Russia as there is now, following its invasion of Ukraine … As for Putin, there have been plenty of reports of at least 16 people who’ve died in violent or suspicious circumstances after incurring his displeasure.”
Run For Your Life was published in April 2024 by Simon & Schuster in Australia. It came out simultaneously in New Zealand, and a week later in the UK as a print book, e-book and audio book. Sue Williams also read the audiobook of Run For Your Life, out with Audible.
Reviews
“Sue Williams is an award-winning journalist. In her latest book, she introduces readers to the Stride family. Run For Your Life is the true story of a family who were forced into hiding for leaking Russian secrets. After moving to Moscow in 1998 to help build the British Embassy, Nick, his wife, and their two children were forced to flee the country, eventually arriving in the extremely remote, sparsely populated, far northern reaches of Western Australia. There they faced a very different life, a life of survival in the Australian Outback, as they sought to escape Russians on their tails. What a ride.”
Samuel Bernard
The Australian
“Williams crafts a compelling narrative from the shockingly true events of Nick and his family’s years on the run. Run For You Life could easily be a fictional novel or feature film, but truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Williams keeps readers turning the page with the thriller-style pacing when the family go on the run. With each chapter, readers are left hoping that this year, the family will be granted asylum and allowed to live in safety. Williams shines a much-needed light on some of the heartbreaking, frustrating and infuriating treatment people in similar circumstances face when up against governmental bureaucracy.”
Stacey O’Carroll
Other Terrain Literary Journal
“A fascinating insight into what one man would do to protect his family and if you are a fan of Bill Browder’s Red Notice then you’ll be intrigued with Run For Your Life also.”
Sue Reid
Read By Reid
“Sue Williams has assembled and delivered the story in a compelling way, a roller coaster ride of adventure and torment. Despite the lessons offered by the content, she has avoided proselytising in favour of giving us facts and circumstances through the eyes of the family … On every level, this book delivers and each page offers experiences to be remembered.”
