In Conversation: Laura Elizabeth Woollett with Christine Layton
Next on
Fri 25 Sep
6:30-7:30pm
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Booking
Booking required
No
Free event
No
Cost
General Admission: $20 ticket
Admission + book package: $45
Low-income ticket: $5
Admission + book package: $45
Low-income ticket: $5
At Books in the Brewery, we believe the joy of storytelling should belong to everyone, not just those with a disposable income. Because of this, we are committing at least 10% of tickets for every event will be reserved at a reduced price for low-income or unemployed members of our community. These tickets are available with no questions asked and no justification required.
Location
State Library Theatre - Ground Floor
This event is for
Adults
Ally Friendly
Researchers
Students
Teachers
Writers
Event Type
An essential conversation about the stories women's bodies tell, the illnesses too often left unspoken, and the power of turning personal experience into public understanding.
What happens when a celebrated novelist turns her sharp, investigative eye towards a hidden and often misunderstood women’s health condition?
Join acclaimed author Laura Elizabeth Woollett in conversation with broadcaster and interviewer Christine Layton as they discuss Hell Days: Into the Inferno of Hormonal Mood Disorder, a groundbreaking new work of nonfiction that combines memoir, medical research, history and reportage to shed light on Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).
In Hell Days, Woollett chronicles her own experience of living with PMDD, a debilitating hormonal mood disorder that can cause extreme psychological distress and remains under-recognised despite affecting countless women. Through deeply personal storytelling, extensive research and conversations with sufferers, clinicians and scientists, Woollett explores the complex intersections of women's health, mental health, medical bias and the search for understanding.
This powerful conversation will delve into the realities of living with chronic hormonal illness, the gaps in women's healthcare, and the urgent need for greater awareness, research and compassion. It is a discussion that is at once intimate, confronting and ultimately hopeful.
Whether you have a personal connection to women's health issues, an interest in contemporary nonfiction, or simply want to hear from one of Australia's most compelling literary voices, this is an unmissable event.
About the author
Laura Elizabeth Woolett is an author and critic based in Naarm/Melbourne. Her shory story collection, The Love of a Bad Man, was published in 2016, followed by the novels Beautiful Revolutionary (2018), The Newcomer (2021), and West Girls (2023). Her works have been listed for numerous awards, including the Stella Prize and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Fiction. In 2025, she was a writer-in-residence at the Cité Internationale Des Arts in Paris. Hell Days (2026) is her nonfiction debut.
About the host
Christine Layton has presented national and statewide programs on ABC Local Radio for over a decade including WA Afternoons, Perth Saturday Breakfast, Roots & Shoots with Sabrina Hahn and Nightlife.
An award-winning lindy hop performer/teacher, native gardener and Mum of two, Christine is also WA's ambassador for Endometriosis Australia after being diagnosed with stage IV deep infiltrating endometriosis.
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Upcoming dates
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