About this ebook
Anna Bligh knows something about hard knocks and high walls. She was raised by a single mother in the working class Gold Coast, a young girl with a soon-to-be-estranged dad who struggled with alcoholism. She spent over 17 years in the rough and tumble of the Queensland Parliament (seven of them as either Deputy Premier or Premier) and she was the first woman to be elected Premier of an Australian State in her own right. In 2011, she led Queensland through the devastation of Australia's largest natural disasters. Her Party then lost the 2012 State election and Anna stepped down to start a new life, only to find herself diagnosed with cancer.
Writing with her trademark honesty, warmth and humour about the challenges that public and private life have thrown her, Anna reflects candidly -- as a wife, mother, daughter, friend and political leader -- on the lessons of leadership, resilience, community and family. 'It is not my bruises and scratches that I want others to see,' she writes in this inspiring, unflinching and engaging memoir about breaking through walls and overcoming obstacles, 'I want them to see the hole in the wall.'
'Compelling reading ... Bligh is a consummate communicator' Sara Dowse, Inside Story
'This reflective autobiography is an inspiration to all women to overcome all obstacles in the way of success' Ballarat Courier
'Partly framed as an inspirational text for future leaders, especially the women who will come after her ... Bligh has written one of the more readable political memoirs of recent years' ABR
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About the author
In March 2009 Anna made history, becoming the first woman to lead a party to victory in a State election in Australia. Born in Queensland in 1960, Anna grew up mainly on the Gold Coast. She graduated from the University of Queensland in 1980 and worked in the community sector and the public service before entering Parliament as the Labor member for South Brisbane in 1995. She joined the shadow ministry the following year and became a minister in 2001. She held several senior portfolios, before becoming Deputy Premier in 2005, and Premier in 2007. After losing the election in 2012, she stepped down and is now the CEO of the NSW YWCA.
