Published Works
Latest Work: A Particular Woman
This memoir offers a profound exploration into the heart of resilience and renewal. It delves into the silent struggle of grieving mothers who were left unequipped to navigate their profound loss. It is a poignant testament to the twin forces of despair and healing, capturing the delicate balance between sorrow and the resurgence of hope.
About the Author:
Born in Sydney, Ashley was married to the late Hon. John Dawson-Damer and has two children. She has a keen interest in the arts and is a former board member of the National Institute of Dramatic Art. She is currently a Council member of the National Gallery of Australia and a member of Opera Australia Capital Fund’s Council of Governors. Recently appointed to the boards of The Sydney Festival and the National Art School, she supports other arts, medical and educational projects. Her published works include Ripe Energy, On Our Terms, and A Particular Woman.
“We must celebrate life. Not just our own, but the life we have with others. Most of us are going to have difficult times dished up to us. The awful times are balanced out by the good times… Suffering mellows us. It makes us humbler and wiser. It adds steel melded with compassion to our strength.
- Ashley Dawson-Damer
A Memoir of love.
A Particular Woman is one woman's very personal journey as she recounts a life of highs and lows and how her resilience helped her find success and peace.
Embracing the excitement and turbulence of sixties Sydney, Ashley is set to make her mark amid uni classes filled with ambitious young males. She pictures her future with a successful career, loving husband and a house full of children.
But life is never quite that easy.
Almost our entire lives us women carry a lot; sometimes an awful lot, often more than we need to. Of course, we each have our dreams, but let’s face it, how often do we achieve what lies deep in our heart?
Ashley Dawson-Damer embraced the turbulence of the 60s, attending uni in her home-made mini-skirts, imagining a successful career, husband and a house full of children. Instead, she found her marriage in breakdown after enduring multiple miscarriages which left her alone with two young children - an adopted little boy and a baby in arms.
Ashley speaks frankly about her life as a single mother; her entry into modelling where she had to source her own accessories and do her own makeup; her joy at a second chance at love; the crumbling old country house and garden she lovingly restored for her family; and the horrific death of her beloved second husband. When Ashley’s mental health took a downward spiral, unable to cope but needing to find her way back, she eventually discovered peace and drew strength from nature, in particular a healing garden, and her love of the arts.
Ashley’s story of courage and self-reflection is one of inspiration. From the glamour of modelling, to expat stints in Peron’s Argentina, Canada, Africa and Asia, to the politics of the boardroom, Ashley reveals what it truly means to be a particular woman of our times.
Published by Ventura Press | July 2020 | RRP $32.99
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In The Media
“From the Hon. Ashley Dawson Damer comes this compelling memoir about a glamorous life plagued by tragedy. This is a story of resilience, strength and love ... – an absolutely unmissable debut.” - with Lord Mayor Clover Moore.
“Years before she became one of our most prominent arts patrons, Ashley Dawson-Damer suffered a raft of personal tragedies that would test her sense of self.” - The Sydney Morning Herald
PRAISE
“A Particular Woman was an interesting and absorbing read, which illustrated rather well for me how much we all have in common despite great distances and disparities between our lives and those of others. My thanks to Ventura Press for providing me with a review copy and to DMCPR for facilitating an interview.” - Living Arts Canberra (Full Book Review)
“A Particular Woman is a story of resilience against a backdrop of a changing Australia, and would hold plenty to interest readers who enjoy first-hand accounts of interesting lives such as Ashley Dawson-Damer’s. Her life did not play out as expected. She was to endure loss and hardship and several transformations of her own life before reaching a place of acceptance and stability. I warmed to her more as she recounted these difficult times and the way she dealt with them. I could admire her hard work, tenacity and commitment to whatever challenges she set herself.” - Denise Newton
“You have certainly had an eventful life. It has clearly had many ups and downs, and we both consider ourselves fortunate to know someone who has come through them with so much resilience, good humour, and kindness as you have.” - Martin D
“I couldn’t put it down. There were times when I was overwhelmed with sadness and wished I could have been there to help especially in the early days before we met and you had so many hardships. Your description of life at the farm with John was like poetry .. and then his death was so painful and tragic. Then I read about how you slowly reemerged into the amazing, beautiful, clever warrior princess who you definitely are and always were… I don’t know how you managed to write about the most painful periods of your life but it demonstrates your kind heart and generosity in sharing these amazing details.
Darling Ashley. CONGRATULATIONS on this amazing achievement. Your book is a page-turner and an eye-opener and beautifully written in your authentic voice. I loved it and loved the way you ended it with dear Judy and her sage advice. “ - Anna J
"Lovely to see the article on you and your book pop up on my Canberra Times feed just now. . . and I so vividly remember that teak table scandal from my impressionable youth in the nation's capital - little did I know you were to blame until now! Congratulations on the book.” - Alex B, Canberra
*More reviews and articles can be found on the Press Page.
Ashley Dawson-Damer shows how women can be anything they want to be – if they use what they know and define what they want. On Our Terms is a celebration of women’s middle years, a time that can be the most liberating and exciting of all. Mann is at the vanguard of a generation of women who are redefining the delicious possibilities of age. Equipped with hard-won confidence, wisdom and compassion, Ashley shows how to exploit the lessons of youth and enjoy the wealth of opportunity that growing older brings.
This book is a woman’s story.
A story of reaching the age of 50 plus, passing through menopause, avoiding cosmetic surgery, ferrying my children through adolescence, maintaining my marriage, being widowed, and being happy to admit my age.
This book celebrates what I call RIPE ENERGY, and shows you how to obtain and maintain it both mentally and physically. When I say RIPE ENERGY, I mean energy that has truly come into its own; that is full, abundant and able to give generously and exquisitely of its wisdom and beauty.
Wrinkles, sags and other blemishes are part of the passage to fifty and beyond. But they don’t need to be the dominant feature.
Why I wrote this book? Because I want to give a positive message to those women who are approaching this challenging era of their lives with a sense of dread and trepidation. And the positive message is that ageing can be graceful. And fruitful. And one of the best times of your life.
Beauty, to women of our age, does not mean flawless skin and perfect body. Beauty, to women of our age, does mean a glow in the skin, a spring in the step, a feeling of health and well-being and a positive purpose to life.
PRAISE
“I read several sections from your book over the weekend and I found it inspirational, informative and moving. And I’m going to encourage my mum to buy it as she’s entering menopause now” - Lindy A, Channel 9, Sydney
“Thank you … for interesting and informative talk … my daughter-in-law has already started to use some of your ideas for getting her four young children eating healthier food” - Caroline P, National Trust, Sydney
“I have found the book most enlightening and so pertinent for one ‘getting on in years’” - Rhondda H, Canberra
“I love my beautiful copy of Ripe Energy and know that it will be a constant guide for my healthy journey” - Susie B, Sydney
“Congratulations! I have not only purchased but, also read your book Ripe Energy. A great achievement. Credit to you for the inspirational guidance you offer for the 50 something ‘girl’” - Alese B, Sydney.
“Ashley found adventure came at a price. Readers can relate to her warmth and
genuine good sense”.
- Mary Chiew, CEO, Giorgio Armani Aust.
‘As a woman you have to manage to embrace life with all that it has to offer.'
During Ashley Dawson-Damer’s book launch in 2004, Ripe Energy, at Giorgio Armani, Sydney.