![The Footy Lady. By Stephanie Asher.](http://web.archive.org./web/20180204013328im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/z/r/b/u/6/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gzrdox.png/1511751874244.jpg)
The Footy Lady
Stephanie Asher
Melbourne University Press, $29.99
She might live in a mansion in Toorak and look the part of the well-heeled, coiffured society lady, but Susan Alberti defies the stereotype. A die-hard Western Bulldogs supporter who grew up in a commission housing estate, Alberti and her husband established a construction business that she ran after his death in a road accident. When her daughter, Danielle, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Alberti threw herself into fund-raising for research into the disease. Further tragedy struck when Danielle died in her mother's arms from diabetes-related complications at the age of 32. As a woman used to getting things done, Alberti channelled her energy and grief into causes closest to her heart: medical research, her football team and women's football, becoming vice-president of the Bulldogs and playing a key role in the launching of the women's league.