Beloved Kath & Kim star Magda Szubanski has told all about the year she “finally grew up” in her moving new memoir.
The actor and comedian – who announced on February 27 that she was in remission from a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer – reflects on another turbulent time in the tome, which is set for publication on September 29.
“2017 was the year I finally grew up. My mother was dying and I was catapulted into the forefront of a bitter cultural and political battle: the same sex marriage survey,” Madga shares.
“I Can’t Tell You But I Will is the true tale of how I came to understand the unseen powers that shape our world, and learned how to stand up to them while staying true to your soul and to the people you speak for.
“Most of all though, it is a eulogy for my beloved mother, Margaret: like me Celtic ancestors, I am ‘keening’ for her life, singing of the terrible beauty of caring for someone you love as they die.
“This is the story of how I went from comedian to campaigner, from daughter to orphan and from naive idealist to pragmatic warrior”.
In a new social media video about her book, Magda had a message for her 406,000 Instagram followers.
“I really hope that you enjoy it,” she said of the book, adding that she was “still just trucking along” after her recent cancer battle.
Magda’s famous friends took to the comments section to share their joy over the news.
“Legend! Well done writing another fantastic book. Counting the days til September 29!” Terri Irwin told her, while other supporters shared how great it was to see Magda sounding “so well”.
Magda’s memoir will mark the first time she has spoken in depth about the deeply distressing death of her mother.
In 2017, she gave a brief insight into Margaret’s struggle, describing her decline into dementia as leaving her “already half in the spirit world” mentally.
In 2018, in an emotional chat with Andrew Denton on his show, Interview, Magda opened up about her mother’s passing, which came just weeks before the same sex marriage vote – for which Magda was a prominent campaigner – was passed.
“It’s been the toughest year of my life without question,” she told Denton. “Mostly because of mum. But the marriage equality stuff was something I was proud to do.
“I just felt so nervous the whole time because if I put a foot wrong, I could be blowing it for everyone. I haven’t had a proper break since that.”
Madga reflected on the emotional toll those months had taken, saying that it was “probably why I’m so tired”.
“I had the armour on through the marriage equality vote,” she said. “I didn’t really get to process it.
“It took seven days for Mum to die. It was brutal. It’s actually f***ing traumatic, watching someone die. You’re not normal after,” the star added.
“I wish she’d been here to see the vote. She would often say to me, when families were turning on their gay kids, ‘I don’t understand how people turn on their own like that.’ She had a real sense of injustice.”
While Magda’s new memoir will shine a light on this most difficult of periods, Publisher and Editor Michael Heyward, of Text Publishing, described it as “extraordinary”.
“It tells the indelible story of how she nursed her ailing mother while also making the commitment to become the public face of the marriage-equality campaign,” he said. “It is a book about mothers and daughters, about courage, family and love.”
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