Dawn: One Hell Of A Life

by Dawn Fraser

Dawn Fraser is one of Australia's most recognised and best-loved sportswomen. She has held our attention (and the headlines) for almost half a century, having burst onto the scene as a gutsy and talented swimmer in the 1950s. A multiple gold medal winner over three consecutive Olympics, a constant record-breaker, a rebel, a campaigner, National Living Treasure, Swimmer of the Century, international sports ambassador, Australian icon, publican and politician, Dawn has lived a remarkable life and done most of it the hard way.

A story of both the athlete and the woman, 'Dawn: One Hell Of A Life' tells the full account of her glittering swimming career and beyond. Dawn tells in her own words what is and isn't behind the rumours that have swirled around her from the beginning, and shines a spotlight on many other aspects of her life. Strong, warm-hearted and unique, Dawn has come through it all and had one hell of a life along the way.

Throughout, her support and love of sport have earned her enduring friendships and admiration, and the pride and affection of a nation when she appeared at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. 'Dawn: One Hell Of A Life' tells why she holds that special place in the hearts of so many Australians.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Australia

410 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Dawn Fraser was an Australian champion swimmer. She is the first of only two swimmers in Olympic history to win individual gold medals for the same event at three successive Olympics. She won eight Olympic medals, including four gold medals, and six Commonwealth Games gold medals. She also held 39 records. The 100 meters freestyle record was hers for 15 years from 1 December 1956 to 8 January 1972.

Born in the Sydney suburb of Balmain, Dawn is the youngest of eight children from a working-class family.

Reviews

[Velvetink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawn was from my childhood inner city suburb. She taught me to swim.!

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspirational memoir from a strong Australian sportswoman. Her story inspires respect and celebration for a great life. Thanks Dawn!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of biographies and this one was really good mainly due to its honesty. There was no reinventing of history to make her look better and sometimes I even became annoyed with her and her attitude but that was better then a rose coloured glass view. What also struck me was the view that the 'good old days' were not always that good. In those times there was a real class distinction and inequality of the sexes and the attitude towards allegations of sexual assault meant that they were not really the good old days. Fraser suffered injustices purely because of her gender and working class roots. Fraser is an icon in Australia and I think she was very brave in providing the reader with details of her private life which could have affected her icon status. I think this honesty has even given her more credibility and increased her status even further.

[Kym Hamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really heart-warming memoir - a girl with enormous talent and resilience who grew up to carve herself a place as one of the world's greatest swimmers and an Australian national treasure. Despite the politicking in the swimming world that seemed to result in 'passing her over' Dawn Fraser won not just hearts and minds but the right hearts and minds - her friends, her colleagues, her peers and her constituents - to achieve the accolades, admiration and respect which has run throughout her life. Thoroughly enjoyable. 4-stars.

[Annette Heslin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books have a way of surprising me at times and this was one of those.

I enjoy memoirs/autobiographies as some people's lives can be very interesting. Dawn was no exception. From humble beginnings to an Olympian achieving great success in the pool. All well-deserved and earned. Her life wasn't easy or her marriage.

But the one thing that kept popping up was that she felt owed by the Country she represented - which when reading her reasons why made me think of a greedy, self-entitled person. Her way of thinking was delusional.

[Chris Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read from one of our greatest sporting legends ever. Fascinating insights into her personal life plus what it means to achieve any level of sporting greatness.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Dawn Fraser's autobiography. Starting right at the beginning ie her birth in suburban Balmain (back then a very working class area)into a large, poor but very loving family it traces her life journey from a tomboy to a world champion swimmer and beyond.

Right from the start Dawn is an easy, engaging read. I was hooked right from the first page and it was only towards the end that I found a few paragraphs/sections that were a bit slow going. So I would say the first part of the book is more exciting (as it deals with her swimming career and rise to fame), but the rest is interesting enough to keep you going.

It is a very honest appraisal from Dawn with a lot of raw emotion expressed during many of her life's tough times. She talks candidly of the extreme pain of losing her beloved older brother from leukemia at a young age and the guilt she felt when her mother was killed in a car accident were she was the driver. She also chronicles the deep depression she suffered after the breakdown of her marriage and her battle with alcoholism.

As a bit of a sports fan I really enjoyed hearing of how amateur sport was back in those days. There was very little sponsorship and athletes were expected to have a job as well as train. It was also interesting to hear a first hand view of the 1956 Olympics and the so called "golden time" of Australian swimming.

Overall a really enjoyable book.

[Neil Haines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found it a hard to read as it moved a bit slow to what I'm used to. Was a book that left me with a lot of respect for Dawnie, her ongoing slog with officials was very interesting. Could imagine some of these officials will never read this book!