Susie Ferguson discusses endometriosis and reporting from war zones with Paula Bennett - Ask Me Anything

Journalist and RNZ host Susie Ferguson has told her life story in a new memoir. Photo / File

RNZ journalist and host Susie Ferguson says she has no regrets about going public with her experience with endometriosis or having a hysterectomy to treat it.

The former Morning Report turned Saturday Morning host has detailed her life story in a new memoir, Bloody Minded, where she discusses her path into journalism, becoming a war reporter, and her public health battles.

Speaking to Paula Bennett on her NZ Herald podcast, Ask Me Anything, Ferguson said that she never thought she would write a book. When she got approached about writing one, she realised there were elements of her story worth telling.

“We get war memoirs, which is all about the gunfights, or the rockets landing, or the mines that go off, and all the violence of war.

“But also I experienced war as a very young, rookie, war reporter, with three weeks’ notice and suspected endometriosis, which I guess most people at the front line didn’t have.”

Ferguson covered the Iraq War in 2003 when she was just 25 and went on to cover conflicts in Afghanistan and Sierra Leone.

During that time, she was dealing with endometriosis, which took a daily toll on her. She had to take 15 painkillers a day to keep it under control.

“I was prescribed to take that for years on end because there was nothing else.”

In 2017, Ferguson revealed she was taking extended leave from Morning Report to have a hysterectomy to ease the pain.

She said the pain had got to a point that she couldn’t handle it anymore.

“I think Bill English was the Prime Minister at that point. And I was like, I can’t keep interviewing Bill English when I’ve got sweat breaking out on me because I’m in so much pain. This is ridiculous. You’re screaming with pain internally.”

Ferguson told Bennett that the procedure was not necessarily a cure for everyone but it was life-changing for her.

Listen to the full episode for more from Susie Ferguson about her experience in war zones, her early struggles with children, and what it’s like being a woman in a man’s world.

Ask Me Anything is an NZ Herald podcast hosted by former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett. New episodes are available every Sunday.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.