Author: Chanelle Haffenden

Unfortunately this isn't a fairy tale, it’s a raw, gut-wrenching yet courageous memoir of a young woman I am proud to call my sister.

May 2024

Authors: Harry Ricketts Publisher: Te Waka Herenga University Press

In First Things, Harry Ricketts chronicles his early life through the lens of 'firsts': those moments that can hold their detail and potency across a lifetime.

9 May 2024

Authors: Terence O’Brien Publisher: Te Waka Herenga University Press

Terence O'Brien was a born diplomat - urbane, clever, adaptable and hardworking, with a talent for strategy and negotiation. Although born in England, he was a loyal and dedicated New Zealander and spent most of his life working to improve the country's position internationally.

9 May 2024

Author: James Robb Publisher: Steele Roberts Aotearoa

"He devoted his life to free the world from unhappiness, tyranny and oppression," reads Harry Holland's memorial in Wellington. Militant unionist, socialist agitator, writer and organiser, Holland was a firebrand leader of workers - both in Australia, where he was jailed for sedition during the Broken Hill miners' strike of 1909, and in Aotearoa New Zealand, from the time he arrived at the start of the Waihi Strike in 1912, to his death at the tangi of the Maori King in 1933.

April 2024

Author: Sarah Beck Publisher: CP Books

This is a story about love, loneliness and despair. Returning to New Zealand after many years abroad, the author, Sarah Beck - a psychologist- writes about overcoming this despair both in herself and in her clients. She introduces the counselling world to her readers, through client stories and through her own journey to happiness.

April 2024

Author: Bob Calkin Publisher: Quentin Wilson Publishing

Tales from the Lucky Generation follows Bob's rise from humble roots in working-class Whanganui to the world of law and business before a spectacular fall from grace landed him with a six-year prison sentence. Imprisonment changed Bob from an ambitious go-getter to a thoughtful, socially conscious man intent on recovering his sense of self-worth by making a positive contribution to society.

Author: Pippa Latour with Jude Dobson Publisher: Allen & Unwin

During her time in Normandy, Pippa sent 135 secret messages conveying crucial information on German troop positions in the lead-up to D-Day. Pippa continued her mission until the liberation of Paris in August 1944.

For decades, Pippa told no one - not even her family - of her incredible feats during WWII.

Now, for the first time, her story can be told in full.

Author: Miriam Sharland Publisher: Otago University Press

Heart Stood Still is a record of Sharland's journey towards finding healing in the world's natural beauty, a beauty that we must fight to protect in the current climate crisis. It is both a memoir and a lyrical portrait of Manawatu. Through a series of personal essays that follow the pattern of the seasons, Sharland skilfully weaves reflections on her life and family history with observations on the native and introduced plants and animals about her; all tinged with her experience as 'an unsettled settler' in Aotearoa.

Author: Ngahuia te Awekotuku Publisher: HarperCollins New Zealand

‘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 whanau dismiss her dreams. To them, she is just a show-off, always getting into trouble, talking back and running away…’

Author: Susan Devoy Publisher: Allen & Unwin

In her own words - and in the hilarious, straight-up style that won her legions of new fans on Celebrity Treasure Island- Dame Susan tells the story of her life so far: the wins, the losses, the battles . . . and the bonds that got her through life's hardest challenges.

Author: Judy Bailey Publisher: HarperCollins New Zealand

When beloved broadcaster Judy Bailey signed off her final news bulletin in 2005, she had no idea that the next years would be some of the most fulfilling of her life.
In Evolving Judy shares new science and personal stories that have shaped her own path into older age. She tackles subjects like taking care of your body and mind through to organising finances, navigating health scares, grieving loved ones and enjoying the finer things.

Author: Graeme McNae. Publisher: Castle Publishing

Like the sound of the fangufangu mana nose flute heard in the morning air, awakening sleepers and banishing lies, the gospel makes its invitation. Graeme and Colleen McNae heeded the call and set off for Tonga with their young family to spread the news. What happened in the decade and a half they were there has been described as 'nothing short of momentous'. This is the story.

16 February 2024

Author: Lynn Davidson. Publisher: Te Herenga Waka Press

Do You Still Have Time for Chaos? tells the story of poet and teacher Lynn Davidson’s late-life decision to leave Aotearoa New Zealand, with scant resources, to build a life in Scotland. In 2020, in the frightening quiet of a Covid-emptied Edinburgh, she begins her memoir; temporarily at home at the Randell Cottage residency in Wellington, she completes it

8 February 2024

Author: William Renwick Publisher: Steele Roberts Aotearoa Ltd

Early years in poverty in rural Northland during the great Depression shaped Bill's conviction that every child should have access to the best its country could provide: "Justice and equality were the compelling forces in his professional life," says Vincent O'Sullivan. When Bill died he left behind this unfinished memoir- a vivid story that starts in rugged circumstances, but thanks to positive experiences at school we see his horizons widen.

5 January 2024

Author: Lisa Jansen. Publisher: Oratia Books.

In Life Done Differently, Lisa Jansen shares her own epic journey. Fans of Eat Pray Love and Cheryl Strayed's Wild will love this adventurous, thought-provoking and inspiring memoir.

02 November 2023

Author: Craig Hoyle. Publisher: HarperCollins NZ.

A heart-wrenching multigenerational family memoir by Craig Hoyle, an excommunicated member of the Exclusive Brethren.

01 November 2023

Author: Rebecca Priestley. Publisher: Te Herenga Waka University Press.

End Times interweaves the stories of two periods in Rebecca’s life, both of which have at heart a sleepless fear of the end of the world. Along the way she asks: Why do people hold on to some ideas but reject others? How do you engage with someone whose beliefs are wildly different from your own? And where can we find hope when it sometimes feels as if we all live on a fault line that could rupture at any moment?

12 October 2023

Author: Wayne Smith with Phil Gifford. Publisher: Mower.

In this long-awaited memoir, rugby coaching great Wayne Smith tell his best, most entertaining, insightful, and amusing anecdotes from an amazing career in in the game.

05 October 2023

Author: Justine Ross with Geoff Ross. Publisher: HarperCollins New Zealand.

An inspirational new memoir about leaving the city for a life in the high country by the authors of Every Bastard Says No, Justine and Geoff Ross.

04 October 2023

Authors: Jools & Lynda Topp. Publisher: Allen & Unwin NZ.

Jools and Lynda Topp, aka The Topp Twins, tell their incredible story in their own words, describing their adventurous lives through laugh-out-loud anecdotes and heartwarming tales.

03 October 2023