“Any Ordinary Day”
Publication
Penguin Random House Australia
Year
2019
Category
Walkley Book Award
As a journalist, Leigh Sales often encounters people experiencing the worst moments of their lives in the full glare of the media. In this wise and layered book, Sales brilliantly intertwines stories of people who have endured unimaginable circumstances with in-depth and groundbreaking research into how human beings react — and adapt — to change.
She combines her journalistic inquiry with reflection on a terrifying ordeal of her own in a book that resonates powerfully with readers.
Any Ordinary Day has sold more than 100,000 copies in Australia. Leigh Sales AM is the anchor of the ABC’s flagship current affairs program, 7.30, and presents the ABC’s federal election and budget-night broadcasts. She has also served as the network’s Washington and national security correspondents. This is Sales’ third Walkley Award.
Judges’ comments:
“In a writing world steeped in memoir, Leigh Sales turned her personal story into
journalism. Any Ordinary Day takes her own traumatic moment as a starting point, using it to inform these remarkable conversations about loss, grief, faith, trauma, resilience and the simple power of indefatigable humanity.”
