Magda Szubanski's new memoir, "I Can't Tell You But I Will," delves into her personal journey and fame in Australia through the lens of her role as Sharon Strzelecki from "Kath & Kim." The book highlights Szubanski’s relationship with her parents, particularly her complicated bond with her mother, which includes both love and hostility. She also discusses her involvement in the marriage equality campaign, acknowledging her initial skepticism but ultimately recognizing her influence and ability to mobilize support through her visibility.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In her new memoir I Can't Tell You But I Will, Magda Szubanski delves into her personal life, including her battle with cancer, and reflects on her role as a national figure through characters like Sharon Strzelecki from *Kath & Kim*. The book highlights how Szubanski resonates deeply with Australians due to her relatability, humility, and self-deprecation. She acknowledges that people feel they know her intimately through her work and personal experiences, making her a beloved figure in the country. Jenna Price of the Sydney Morning Herald notes that Szubanski’s memoir is raw and honest, revealing both painful conflicts and loving moments with her mother, Sharon Strzelecki.
Written for “Sharon Strzelecki Memoir” on 2026-10-06,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
There’s one thing you need to know about Magda Szubanski’s latest memoir, and it’s this: she understands her place in the Australian consciousness.
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she → ’ → consciousness
Sure, she tries to underplay it when she says that through all the characters she’s created over the years, “most especially Sharon Strzelecki – people feel they know me.
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they → try → me
More than that – they feel through me.”
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they → feel → me
Szubanski recognises she is our national mascot.
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she → recognise → ?
Our own efforts with our families succeed and fail.
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efforts → succeed → families
Our own efforts with our bodies succeed and fail.
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efforts → succeed → bodies
And like Magda, about half of us get cancer before 85.
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half → get → 85
She knows us.
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She → know → us
And in I Can’t Tell You But I Will, she gives us all the reasons why we, as a nation, have adored and adopted her.
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we → tell → her
She’s not a wanker.
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She → ’ → ?
She’s amazingly humble about her achievements.
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She → ’ → achievements
And she’s adorably self-deprecating.
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she → ’ → ?
These are the characteristics we admire in any prominent Australian – and even among the rest of us – and in one package, they are irresistible.
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they → admire → package
It’s no surprise then that the geniuses who ran the marriage equality campaign recruited her to be its face.
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who → ’ → her
In return, she has recruited the successful campaign to be the underlying narrative which draws her memories, her recollections, her histories, all together.
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which → recruit → memories
She admits she was sceptical about the slogans, resistant to being told to be a certain way once she’d come out on national television.
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she → admit → television
She listens to people who know more than she does.
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she → listen → more
Sure, she can be a tiny bit disingenuous when she writes: “What do I even bring to the fight, apart from fame?
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I → write → fame
It’s not real power.”
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It → ’ → ?
Your sheer recognisability gives you power.
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recognisability → give → power
Szubanski reveals the scarily complex relationship she had with her mother.
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she → reveal → mother
The appalling way they spoke to each other.
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they → speak → other
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where I sometimes felt like squinting my eyes or skipping to the next page to avoid reading the intense bits where these two women tear each other apart, stick each other together and do it all over again, the cruelty and the love hand-in-hand.
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cruelty → think → hand
Szubanski doesn’t shirk from exposing her own bad behaviour.
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Szubanski → shirk → behaviour
And her dad doesn’t come out too well either.
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dad → come → ?
One parent was embarrassed by her weight, the other wanted her to know that the “gay gene” didn’t come from him.
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gene → embarrass → him
“In the psychological war between my parents, I was collateral damage,” she writes.
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she → write → parents
She has, as she confesses, a compulsion to air wounds.
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she → have → wounds
I’d be surprised if many readers don’t look away from the hard bits.
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readers → look → bits
And zero surprise our beloved Sharon ended up in therapy, which she absolutely does not mind talking about.
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she → end → which
There’s a hilarious section where she comes into conflict with her therapist.
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she → ’ → therapist
She tells her that she plans to come out, and the therapist advises “you’re not fully cooked yet, Magda,
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you → tell → her
If you come out before you’ve resolved your internalised homophobia, you’ll screw it up.
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you → come → it
You’ll do both yourself and the community a disservice.
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You → do → disservice
Because of the affection the public has for you, you can get this across in a way that no one else can.”
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one → have → way
I won’t do spoilers but when Szubanski writes her therapist was trying to pull “lesbian rank” on her, I started giggling uncontrollably.
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I → do → her
These two end up in a whole “who is the most lesbian” session.
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who → end → session
Can it possibly have happened?
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it → happen → ?
I sincerely hope so.
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I → hope → ?
She explores these not only through her own personal Polish connection but also through Diego, the troubadour who accompanied Szubanski on a trip through Spain to find famous lesbians.
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who → explore → lesbians
…and 9 more, not listed.
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