RECKONING

"If you had met my father you would never, not for an instant, have thought he was an assassin. Warmhearted, friendly, humorous, loyal; he was a family man. Out there in the Melbourne suburbs— mowing the lawn in his terry-towelling hat and Bombay bloomers—you would never have guessed that he was capable of killing in cold blood. But he was. Poor bastard."

Heartbreaking, joyous, traumatic, intimate and revelatory, RECKONING is the book where Magda Szubanski, one of Australia's most beloved performers, tells her story. In this extraordinary memoir, Magda describes her journey of self-discovery from a suburban childhood, haunted by the demons of her father's espionage activities in wartime Poland and by her secret awareness of her sexuality, to the complex dramas of adulthood and her need to find out the truth about herself and her family. With courage and compassion she addresses her own frailties and fears, and asks the big questions about life, about the shadows we inherit and the gifts we pass on.

Honest, poignant, utterly captivating, RECKONING announces the arrival of a fearless writer and natural storyteller. It will touch the lives of its readers.

Magda Szubanski is one of Australia's best known and most loved performers. She began her career in university revues, then appeared in a number of sketch comedy shows before creating the iconic character of Sharon Strzelecki in ABC-TV's Kath and Kim. She has also acted in films (Babe, Babe: Pig in the City, Happy Feet, The Golden Compass) and stage shows. RECKONING is her first book.