By Andrew Robb

Black Dog is shorthand for a disease the millions of people suffer from – depression.

Andrew Robb lived with an unspoken fear that what he passed off as ‘not being good in the mornings’ was something darker: a black dog whose daily visit lasted longer as the years passed.

Worried about stigmas and letting people down, he avoided confronting the problem for four decades, the adrenaline of high-pressure and high profile jobs offering the ideal antidote. Ultimately, realising his ambitions meant having to face up to this very private demon.Andrew Robb’s battle with the black dog has touched a chord with many Australians.

His memoir explores the challenges of managing depression, political ambition and life in the Liberal Party.Andrew Robb’s career has been devoted to the Liberal cause-as Federal Director of the Liberal Party, as Executive Director of the National Farmers Federation, during seven years in the Packer business empire, and now in parliamentary politics.

His memoirs document the private struggle and the public life of the Liberal Party’s chief political strategist. It offers readers an insight into one man’s lifelong battle with a private demon amidst the drama and tumult of contemporary Australian politics.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, ANDREW ROBB

.Andrew Robb was born in 1951 and grew up on a dairy farm in Epping (north of Melbourne) with his parents and 8 brothers and sisters.

He later moved to Reservoir, attended Parade Christian Brothers College and later gained a Diploma of Agricultural Science from Dookie Agricultural College and a first class Honours Degree in Economics from La Trobe University, married Maureen and later had three children Tom, Joe and Pip.

Between 1972 – 1989 he worked as an animal health officer and agricultural economist for the Department of Agriculture (Victoria), as an economist for the National Farmers’ Federation, and then became Executive Director of the Cattle Council of Australia and later Executive Director of the National Farmers’ Federation.

He served as Federal Director and Campaign Director of the Liberal Party (including directing the succesful 1996 campaign) until 1997 when he worked for Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and then built an Australia wide direct marketing technology company.

After 2001 he worked independently providing strategic advice to major companies around Australia and overseas, including as a member of the investment team for the Gorgon Gas Project.

He was awarded the Order of Australia and Centenary Medal for service to agriculture and politics in 2003, all the while being heavily involved in the community from 1998 serving as a Board Member of Sinclair Knight Merz, Garvan Medical Research Foundation, Menzies Research Centre, Australian Direct Marketing Association, Big Brother Big Sister and the YWCA Leadership Group, and was elected to the Federal seat of Goldstein in 2003.

He had many other positions within the Australian Government during the following years and in 2011 Andrew released his book on his struggle with a depressive illness, Black Dog Daze: Public Life, Private Demons, which was published by Melbourne University Publishing, he was then appointed as Minister for Trade and Investment in the new Abbott government in 2013.

More about Andrew Robb can be found in our Well Known People Like Us section.

HOW TO BUY?

This book can be purchased through the Melbourne University Publishing website.

Published by: Melbourne University Press

ISBN: 9780522858570