Memoir books from New Zealand
Recommended memoir books (11)
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
If you are into memoir here are some memoir books from New Zealand for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge.
1.
A Different Kind of Power by Jacinda Ardern EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
NEW YORK TIMES 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. “A clear and compelling case for compassion . . . an implicit repudiation of the strongman style of leadership that has taken hold around the world.”—The Washington Post What if we could redefine leadership? What if kindness came first? Jacinda Ardern grew up the daughter of a police officer in small-tow... continue
2.
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
#1 New York Times Bestseller “Careless People is darkly funny and genuinely shocking...Not only does [Sarah Wynn-Williams] have the storytelling chops to unspool a gripping narrative; she also delivers the goods." -Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times “When one of the world’s most powerful media companies tries to snuff out a book — amid other alarming attacks on free speech in America like this — it’s time to pull out all the stops.” –Ron Charles, The Washington Post An explosive memoir charting one woman’s career at the heart of one of the most influential companies on the planet, Careless Pe... continue
4.
Daughter of Gloriavale by Lilia Tarawa EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
In this personal account, Lilia Tarawa exposes the shocking secrets of the cult, with its rigid rules and oppressive control of women. She describes her fear when her family questioned Gloriavale's beliefs and practices.
5.
Letters and Journals by Katherine Mansfield EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
'Here then is a little summary of what I need - power, wealth and freedom. It is the hopelessly insipid doctrine that love is the only thing in the world... which hampers us so cruelly. We must get rid of that bogey - and then, then comes the opportunity of happiness and freedom.' So wrote one of our most gifted, but tragically short-lived, writers whose relatively small output has, nevertheless, exercised a powerful influence on modern fiction - indeed, Virginia Woolf confessed that hers was the only writing she was jealous of. Although these letters and extracts from Katherine Mansfield's jo... continue
6.
Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka : The Autobiography of a South Sea Trader's Daughter by Florence Frisbie EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Miss Ulysses from Puka-Puka (2nd edition) by Florence (Johnny) Frisbie is the first book written by a Polynesian woman. It tells the amazing story of a young girl growing up on a remote island in the Cook Islands group. Written when Johnny was between the ages of 12 and 14, and published in 1948 when she was 15, Johnny likens her travels through South Pacific islands to those of Ulysses in the Odyssey. Through Johnny's fresh and unspoiled eyes, we read of a Garden-of-Eden existence on a remote atoll, where the land and the sea provide all that is necessary for life. The sea brings danger as we... continue
7.
Northbound : Four seasons of solitude on Te Araroa by Naomi Arnold EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Alone in the wilderness Award-winning journalist Naomi Arnold 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, walking on through days of thick mud, blazing sun and lightning storms, and into cold, starlit nights. Along the way she encounters colourful locals and travellers who delight and inspire her. An upbeat, fascinating and inspiring memoir of solitude, love and friendship, and the joys and pains to be found in the wilderness.
8.
The Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
Ruth Shaw weaves together stories of the characters who visit her bookshops, musings about her favourite books, and bittersweet stories from her full and varied life before bookshops. She sailed through the Pacific for years, was held up by pirates, worked at Sydney's King's Cross with drug addicts and prostitutes, campaigned on numerous environmental issues, and worked the yacht Breaksea Girl as an expedition/tourist boat with her husband, Lance. But underlining all her wanderings and adventures are some very deep losses and long-held pain. Balancing that out is her beautiful love story with ... continue
9.
Through the Eyes of a Foster Child : My Childhood in Over 30 New Zealand Homes by Daryl Brougham EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
In 1990, at the age of ten, Daryl Brougham was told by a social worker that he was useless and would end up in jail. By 1997, he had attended 27 schools, been through over 30 social workers and lived in more than 30 different foster homes. During his 18 years as a state ward he suffered repeated sexual, physical, emotional and psychological abuse. Imagine coming home to be told you are moving somewhere new in half an hour. Imagine being forced to eat a spider. Imagine drinking from the toilet bowl because you¿re too scared to go near the kitchen. Imagine what you would become after all those y... continue
10.
View from the summit by Sir Edmund Hillary EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
In a memoir by the first man to reach the peak of Everest, Hillary discusses the adventures that shaped his life, from the South Pole to the Ganges River.