My way out of the woods

脱离困境之路

Lives Less Ordinary

2025-07-28

41 分钟
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A corporate high-flyer ended up living in a forest after a spiral of debt, shame and secrecy. After avoiding a mounting debt to his landlord, Australian Mic Whitty’s life started to crumble. Instead of facing his responsibilities, he tried to gamble and steal money to better his fortunes. As his mental health deteriorated, wracked by guilt and shame, he was determined to pay everyone back. Then he disappeared from his old life and ended up homeless, living in a forest. Through a stroke of luck, a kind librarian, and a 100-year-old war diary with a bullet hole in it, Mic would emerge from the woods with a new purpose and a shot at redemption. This programme contains references to suicide. If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, you can find support at befrienders.org Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producers: Edgar Maddicott and Elena Angelides Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784   You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice
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  • Instead of just owning up,

  • I just basically stuck my head in the sand and was effectively just waiting for the phone call.

  • I was waiting for them to ring me to tell me there was a problem.

  • You're building the funeral pyre so high and pouring petrol on it that all it takes is just straightening the match.

  • That sinking feeling, a knot in the pit of your stomach.

  • that can't be undone because things just feel too far gone.

  • We've all had those runaway moments seemingly beyond our control.

  • For my guest today, Mick Whitty from Australia.

  • His problems piled so high he felt he was being crushed under their weight.

  • From the outside, Mick had everything.

  • The high flying job,

  • the status and the money but he ended up on the edges of society sleeping in the woods having eroded the trust of so many people how exactly do you right the wrongs and find a way out of what seems like a dead end well that's exactly what mick eventually did he retraced his steps made amends to everyone he'd hurt and then with a little bit of good luck He found a new drive in life.

  • I'm Mabin Azhar, and from the BBC World Service, this is Lives Less Ordinary.

  • Mick has lived many lives.

  • Right now, he's on his bike travelling the world.

  • It may be the third or fourth iteration of who Mick is as an adult.

  • the latest source of his devotion.

  • We'll get to the why of that later and how a hundred-year-old diary with a bullet hole is involved.

  • I spoke to Mick via video link.

  • When he appeared on screen, the first thing I noticed was fiery and orange.