Aotearoa Premiere

BLOODY MINDED

Name: BLOODY MINDED
Start: 2024-10-27T10:30:00+12:00
End: 2024-10-27T11:30:00+12:00
Location: SUTER THEATRE

Susie Ferguson

Aotearoa Premiere Writers + Kōrero

RNZ presenter Susie Ferguson recounts her years as a war correspondent while battling endometriosis and discusses her breathtaking memoir on tenacity and self-belief, which shines a light on a health system that isn’t made for us and proves the importance of being loud with our truths. Chaired by Naomi Arnold.

Early in her radio career Susie Ferguson became a war correspondent. The only woman among hundreds of soldiers, in camo and a flak jacket she was one of the boys. None of them knew she was taking 15 painkillers a day, reliant on opioids to stem the burning and stabbing pain in her uterus.

Even bloody-minded grit couldn’t have prepared Susie for womanhood. More than her body’s betrayal, it’s the vicious bullying only girls can do. It’s waiting years for surgery because your pain doesn’t matter. It’s the threat of violence in countries where a woman is either property or the spoils of war. It’s going overnight from a high-powered career to a stay-at-home mum. It’s the doctor who says you’re wasting his time. But it is also friendship, love, having the grit to carry on – and to do it smiling.

Her debut book Bloody Minded is breathtaking memoir on tenacity and self-belief. By sharing her story of endometriosis, miscarriage, childbirth, and menopause, Susie shines a light on a health system that isn’t made for us, and the importance of being loud with our truths.

Susie Ferguson (she/her)

Susie Ferguson was born in Scotland and is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster. After graduating from The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama and the University of the Arts London, she became a war correspondent, reporting and presenting from around the world – most notably the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. She emigrated to New Zealand in 2009, and for eight years was co-host of Radio NZ’s top-rating show, Morning Report. She has also made radio documentaries and podcasts including RNZ’s The Unthinkable and Undercurrent: Misinformation in Aotearoa. Susie currently hosts RNZ’s Saturday Morning, is an ambassador for Endometriosis NZ, and lives in Wellington with her family.

Naomi Arnold (she/her)

Naomi Arnold is an award-winning Nelson journalist who has written for most New Zealand magazines and newspapers including New Zealand Geographic, North & South and The Listener. She occasionally contributes to international outlets including The Guardian and The Washington Post. She started her writing career at the Nelson Mail in 2009, where she wrote features for five years before becoming a freelance writer and author. She has written the critically-acclaimed history of New Zealand astronomy Southern Nights (HarperCollins), World of WearableArt: 30 Designers Tell Their Stories (Potton & Burton), and is co-author of new release Force of Nature, a history of Forest & Bird, with renowned Nelson author David Young (Potton & Burton). Her next book, a memoir about walking the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa, is forthcoming from HarperCollins.