Description
Bread and Roses is the 1984 autobiography of Sonja Davies, one of New Zealand’s most prominent trade unionists, peace campaigners, and politicians. The book tracks her journey from a turbulent youth to becoming a fierce advocate for women’s and workers’ rights, later adapted into an acclaimed feature film.
Early Hardships and War Years
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- Details her unconventional childhood as an illegitimate child and her subsequent struggles with severe illness, including a long battle with tuberculosis.
- Recounts her life during World War II, capturing the societal constraints, personal heartbreaks, and realities faced by young women at the time.
The Awakening of an Activist
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- Focuses on her growing political consciousness as a working mother in the 1940s and 1950s, driven by the injustices she witnessed in workplaces and communities.
- Documents her involvement in landmark social movements, including the famous 1955 Nelson Railway protest, where she and other women sat on the tracks to prevent the line’s closure.
Leadership and Political Legacy
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- Chronicles her rise through the ranks of the trade union movement, fighting for equal pay, childcare, and safer working conditions for women.
- Reflects on her international peace activism, her election as the first female executive member of the Federation of Labour, and her eventual role as a Member of Parliament.
Paperback. 309 Pages. Very-Good Condition.
