Her life's work: conversations with five New Zealand women

“Pragmatism, humour, stubborn bloody-mindedness – what else does a woman need to carry her through the ups and downs of her life's work?"

This book describes and analyses the lives of five significant New Zealand women, through in depth interviews with historian and biographer Deborah Shepard. Although there are separate biographies and memoirs of these women, the interviewer is concerned here with the influences that have affected their careers; their education, their families, their self-image; their creativity; their aspirations and major events like the Land March of 1975, the rise of feminism and the Springbok tour. All have answered honestly about these influences and also about motherhood and domesticity and all make insightful comments on how they achieved the life balance needed to become such leaders in their own fields. The editor’s introduction and conclusion are also enlightening.

Shepard is a narrator rather than an interrogator and provides interesting details about the women's homes and surroundings. This book deserves a long slow read for its assessment of the way life unfolds for different people and the commitment of individuals to their own goals.