Memorable Memoirs of Kiwi Women

Straight Up

After a childhood filled with neglect, Ruby yearned for another path. Determined not to let her upbringing limit her, she survived abuse, drugs, and tragedy to become one of the most successful women's rugby players in the world. The explosion of women's rugby on the global stage has matched the rise of Ruby's stellar career, as she has grown with the game from amateur to professional. In Straight Up, Ruby looks herself in the eye, understanding that she can turn pain into purpose. It's time to be straight up. #1 Best-selling Book!

Honey

Honey, Hunz, Honey Bill, Arneta, Aunty, Whaea, Mum, Nan. From 'town bully' to multiple world champion, single mum, and pioneering TV commentator - Honey Hireme-Smiler's astounding life story is built on so many layers. With one of the most impressive resumes in New Zealand sport, Honey is a four-time World Cup winner who wore the silver fern in league, rugby, sevens and nines. She moved freely between codes, was one of the first women to play professional rugby in Aotearoa, and was repeatedly named one of the best in the world, no matter the sport. But for all her victories on the field and now the sideline, there have been personal challenges and loss - from a troubled childhood to heartbreaking tragedies. Candid, harrowing, powerful, uplifting and funny,...

UnApologetically Me

Known and loved by her many New Zealand and Australian fans as a down-to-earth broadcaster, radio host and social media sensation, Bree Tomasel is an irrepressible force of nature. But behind the banter and success lies a young woman who has battled anxiety and survived a harrowing attack as a young child. Now, for the first time, Bree writes about how that attack has shaped her, as well as what it was like to grow up questioning her sexuality in conservative country Queensland. She shares her struggles with anxiety and ADHD, and the experience of living in the public eye. Written with her trademark wit and compassion, UnApologetically Me is a book for anyone who has ever felt uncomfortable in their own skin. It is a celebration of...

Hine Toa

Hine Toa is an incredible memoir by a trailblazing voice in women's, queer, and Māori liberation movements. 'Remarkable. At once heartbreaking and triumphant' – Patricia Grace In the 1950s, a young Ngahuia is fostered by a family who believe in hard work and community. Although close to her kuia, she craves more: she wants higher education and refined living. But whānau dismiss her dreams. To them, she is just a show-off, always getting into trouble, talking back, and running away. In this fiery memoir about identity and belonging, Ngahuia te Awekotuku describes what was possible for a restless working-class girl from the pā. After moving to Auckland for university, Ngahuia advocates resistance as a founding member of Nga Tamatoa and the Women's and Gay Liberation movements, becoming a...

No Words for This

The much-anticipated memoir by media personality Alison Mau In my family, we never talked about the past... Since the age of twelve, Alison Mau wanted to be a journalist just like her dad. A beer-swilling, straight-talking man who was rough around the edges but could quote passages of Hamlet at will, he taught Ali everything from rabbit-hunting to throwing a punch and crafting a sharp sentence. It didn't matter that he complained loudly of his sexless marriage and put down the women in their social circle—these were just a mark of the times, Ali thought. Ali grew up in suburban Melbourne in the 1970s and got her start in journalism at The Warracknabeal Herald, where the entire reporting staff of the eight-page gazette was female. But from there,...

Northbound: Four seasons of solitude on Te Araroa

Alone in the wilderness Northbound: Four Seasons of Solitude on Te Araroa is an inspiring memoir by award-winning journalist Naomi Arnold. She spends nearly nine months walking the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa, fulfilling a 20-year dream. On her own, she traverses mountains, rivers, cities, and plains from summer to spring, enduring days of thick mud, blazing sun, lightning storms, and cold, starlit nights. Throughout her journey, Naomi encounters colourful locals and travellers who both delight and inspire her. This book offers an upbeat, fascinating, and inspiring narrative of solitude, love, and friendship, capturing the joys and pains to be found in the wilderness.

Full Circle

I stumble across a photo of me, aged ten. My immediate thought is: 'Who is that girl?' I remember her but I don't recognise myself in her. She was so determined. Once she knew what she wanted, she'd just head straight for it. From a childhood in rural Piopio, Jenny-May Coffin grew up to achieve international success as a Silver Fern and then began a stellar career on radio and television as a sports commentator and morning presenter. But outward success can often mask inner uncertainty, and Jenny-May lost her grip on the confidence her ten-year-old self possessed. The ups and downs of a full life, with tragedies as well as triumphs, left her in need of renewal. Here is the story of how she found self-confidence again,...

Adventures with Emilie

A mother and daughter's wild journey to rediscover the wonder and restorative power of nature. "I'm here because I want to test the very limits of my own resilience and reassure myself that no matter what's happened to me, I'm not ready to lie down and die." In 2021, Victoria Bruce quit her corporate job, packed up her life and embarked on Te Araroa trail with her seven-year-old daughter, Emilie. On the 3000-kilometre journey that traverses the length of Aotearoa, the duo faced Covid lockdowns, the harsh elements of New Zealand's backcountry and even a near-death experience. A keen tramper, Victoria's drive to complete the walk was to take time out, create lasting memories with Emilie, and reconnect with nature. But it was also a way for her...

A Wife On Gorge River

Life with New Zealand's remotest family in a follow-on from the bestselling A Life on Gorge River by Robert Long. In 2010, New Zealand met its remotest family through the writing of Robert Long—aka Beansprout—and we were intrigued. Now Beansprout's wife, Catherine Stewart, tells her story and answers many of our questions. Why did she decide to join him on the wild West Coast, two days' walk from the nearest road? Why and how did they raise their family there? Was it terrifying to be so far from medical help? How did she home-school the children? How have they all fared now the kids are young adults, forging their own way in the world? And what lessons are there for the rest of us from her experiences raising...

Fleur

The memoir of the characterful restaurateur and national treasure, Fleur Sullivan, is Fleur. A South Island legend, Fleur is the culinary maven responsible for not one but two iconic local restaurants—Olivers in Clyde and the eponymous Fleurs Place in Moeraki. Now, at the age of 72, she's running a third, The Loan and Merc, in her hometown of Oamaru. Her eventful career has spanned more than 40 years, during which time she's transformed two sleepy towns into international destinations. Fleur is brimming with great stories, anecdotes, reminiscences, the conversations had around her table, and friendships formed in her establishments. This memoir chronicles her early life cooking in a pub on the West Coast, through to setting up Dunstan House in Clyde, and onto the heady days of the...

Laughing at the Dark

'My own first memory is the cupboard door, and laughing, erupting with laughter' – a memoir about finding an identity, a voice and laughter. From the best-selling and acclaimed author Barbara Else, Laughing at the Dark is a funny, moving memoir about how she rebelled against being a 'good girl'. By the time she was in her forties, Barbara was married to a globally recognised academic physician and had two beautiful teenage daughters. As her writing career developed, her husband became angry at the prospect of her being anything but a housewife. In a moment of madness – or realisation – she packed her car and took off to live with the man who would become her second husband. With her trademark wit and humour, Barbara poignantly describes...

There's a Cure for This: A Memoir

The striking debut memoir from award-winning doctor and writer, Emma Espiner. "I don't know why medicine felt like coming home but, for some reason, it fits. I keep thinking about how the tohu, once awarded, can never be taken back. There are few things in life that emphatic. Better not fuck it up." From award-winning writer Dr Emma Espiner comes this striking and profound debut memoir. Encompassing whanau, love, death, '90s action movies and scarfie drinking, There's a Cure for This is Espiner's own story, from a childhood spent shuttling between a 'purple lesbian state house and a series of man-alone rentals' to navigating parenthood on her own terms; from the quietly perceived inequities of her early life to hard-won revelations as a Māori medical student and junior...

Everything But the Medicine

Wise, candid, brave and moving, this superbly written memoir by a New Zealand GP is reminiscent of the warm wisdom and humanity of the American physician and writer Atul Gawande. Over her long career, Dr Lucy O’Hagan has developed deep insights into the profound but often complex relationship between patients and doctors. Reading about her own struggle with what it means to be a truly useful doctor is both fascinating and absorbing. From working with people living on the margins and her own burnout to her efforts to better serve her Māori patients and the humour that’s sometimes needed to get through the day, she keeps her eye on one key question: What is it to be a good doctor in this place? Everything But the Medicine explores...

Surviving White Island

Surviving White Island - Surviving the unsurvivable. Healing from the unhealable. This is an inspiring memoir of physical and mental recovery, from someone who lived through the Whakaari White Island volcanic eruption. "I heard someone say, 'Wow!' And someone else exclaimed, 'Look at that!' I had my back to the crater. I turned around. The moment I saw it, I knew what was happening. The island was erupting. An enormous black-and-grey plume was rising above the island, already higher than the peak. It was beautiful actually, set against the bright blue sky. Beautiful and awful. Our radios were already blaring something along the lines of 'ERUPTION! TAKE COVER!' and I was yelling, 'Everyone, with me! Run!'" Kelsey Waghorn, a guide on the ill-fated tour of Whakaari White Island...

Every Second Counts

Be Brave

Be Brave

A Different Kind of Power

#1 New Zealand bestseller #1 Amazon bestseller #2 Audible bestseller #3 New York Times bestseller #3 Sunday Times bestseller #4 Australian bestseller From the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world’s youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office, comes a deeply personal memoir chronicling her extraordinary rise and offering inspiration to a new generation of leaders. What if we could redefine leadership? What if kindness came first? Jacinda Ardern grew up the daughter of a police officer in small-town New Zealand, but as the 40th Prime Minister of her country, she commanded global respect for her empathetic leadership that put people first. This is the remarkable story of how a Mormon girl plagued by self-doubt made political history and...

Night, Ma

Alone in the World

'Miriam finds beauty in what lies beyond fear.' Ben Fogle, New Lives in the Wild Do something unexpected. Sooner, rather than later. Miriam Lancewood - adventurer, philosopher, brave and extraordinary yet humble human being - takes you into her world of expeditions through New Zealand, Bulgaria, the Himalayas, India, Turkey, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. She hitchhikes to remote locations, camps in the wild, fights off bears, fights off unwanted men, climbs mountains, and survives by eating from the land and living by her wits. Miriam aims to overcome fear by deepening her independence. Each adventure reflects both her strengths and vulnerabilities, and she tells vivid and deeply personal stories drawn from those experiences. With practical advice on how to prepare for the unexpected, Alone in the World will resonate...

A Place to Stand

A Place to Stand by Clare Ward is a profound memoir that delves into the life of a country doctor living and working in the Hokianga Harbour area in the far north of Aotearoa New Zealand. This region is sparsely populated and poses numerous health challenges. This thoughtful account details Clare’s thirty-year career, highlighting the people she works with and the remote and isolated landscape in which she practises. Clare explores her position as a Pākehā in a predominantly Māori world with respect and acknowledges her standing as an outsider. She thoughtfully narrates people's stories, ensuring their dignity and anonymity is preserved. Her understated writing style offers readers a glimpse into the complex world of a rural doctor, drawing them into the lives and experiences of those she...

Go Hard or Go Home

From the front bench to rock bottom: Go Hard or Go Home is Kiri Allan's fearless memoir of ambition, disruption and survival in NZ politics and beyond. Kiri Allan's six-year political career spanned some of the most challenging times in recent history. Events a government might encounter once in a generation stacked up: a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption, destructive and deadly weather events, a global pandemic . . . And as a highly recognisable figure, Kiri's overlapping personal story also played out under scrutiny: divorce, new parenthood, cancer diagnosis and treatment, and mental health struggles culminating in the car crash that led to her resignation. Go Hard or Go Home is the story of the person beyond the headlines, from church-going child to charismatic hitch-hiker to precocious law student to...