A Passionate Life

An appealing and lively autobiography by one of Australia's most distinguished journalists, A Passionate Life will strike a chord with working women everywhere. An updated edition, now including an epilogue.

Kerry Packer described her as a ‘dedicated and brilliant journalist who has achieved greatness in her industry very early and so quickly’ and ‘a jewel beyond price’. Cold Chisel wrote a song about her. Rupert Murdoch was so impressed by her talents, he asked her to be the editor-in-chief of both the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs – and in doing so, become the first woman ever to edit a major Australian metropolitan newspaper.

In her extraordinary career, spanning over fifty years, Ita Buttrose has been involved in every aspect of the media, from newspapers and magazines to television and radio. From her creation of a new type of women’s magazine in Cleo and then ITA, to her appointment as the youngest-ever editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly, a passionate love of journalism has driven her every step of the way.

Refreshingly candid about the challenges she has faced as a professional woman, not only in her career but also in her love life and as a mother, A Passionate Life describes those groundbreaking years with Ita’s trademark clarity, precision and wit.