\n deadly blast on Whakaari White Island is: \u2018and everything that came after\u2019.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cThe pyroclastic surge \u2013 \u2018a massive ejection of acid, gases, ash, rock, all that business\u2019 \u2013 coming your way is a \u2018white-flag moment\u2019 that people usually don\u2019t survive, she writes. Many didn\u2019t: the explosion on the island on December 9, 2019, killed 22 and injured 25 others, many severely burned. The bodies of two people were never recovered \u2026 She didn\u2019t know it yet, but all the exposed skin on her body, not just her hands and arms, had been badly burnt. Her injuries would require months of treatment, and there were times doctors thought she would not survive. Then there were further months and years trying to stabilise her broken nervous system and fragile mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Surviving White Island is told with the verve of a thriller, and surprising amounts of humour (in her preface Waghorn writes: \u201cI hope you like footnotes\u201d).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe core of Waghorn\u2019s account is the many messages exchanged by her family while she was in hospital \u2026 they are extremely affecting, and essential to her story: how much a loving family \u2013 and dedicated medical staff \u2013 can help the severely injured.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waghorn says she will continue to squeeze everything she can out of life, and we should all do the same. \u201cYou might not have a choice in some of what happens in life, but you have the choice in how you show up. Just keep turning up. And keep fighting like hell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Surviving White Island by Kelsey Waghorn. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
2. (1) Champions Do Extra by Brad Thorn (HarperCollins)<\/p>\n
The dual rugby champion\u2019s memoir drops to No 2.<\/p>\n
From the publisher: \u201cBrad Thorn\u2019s career rewrote the rules of what an athlete can achieve. From his country upbringing on the frosty fields of Otago in New Zealand to the baked turf of Queensland in Australia, Brad Thorn reveals the powerful lessons he learned in his relentless pursuit of excellence, inspiring readers to unlock their own potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a remarkable 30-year career, spanning 477 games of professional footy across two codes, the dual international played for some of the highest performing teams on the planet: the All Blacks, Kangaroos, Queensland Maroons, Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury Crusaders. He was still playing professionally at the age of 41.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrad Thorn\u2019s trophy cabinet includes a Rugby World Cup, four Rugby League NRL premiership titles, two State of Origins series, one Super Rugby title, five Bledisloe Cups, three Tri Nations titles, two NPC titles, the Ranfurly Shield, and a European Rugby Champions Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThorn credits his achievements and longevity to the lessons in this book, and, above all, the credo his father taught him \u2018champions do extra\u2019. Champions Do Extra is an inspirational story about what family, faith and footy can teach us about how to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Champions Do Extra by Brad Thorn. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
3. (2) Lessons on Living by Nigel Latta (HarperCollins)<\/p>\n
The recently departed TV psychologist Nigel Latta\u2019s mental toolkit for life\u2019s ups and downs.<\/p>\n
From the publisher: \u201cWhat do you do when you\u2019re told you have only months to live? If you\u2019re Nigel Latta, first, you\u2019re going to eat a lot of ice cream. And then you\u2019re going to assemble a mental toolbox to deal with every conceivable conundrum the world could throw at you (the small ones and the big ones). After three decades working as a clinical psychologist, Nigel has found there are just three principles you need to deal with life\u2019s ups and downs. Whether you want to be a better parent, build an empire or get through some tough times, these easy-to-carry principles will help you to do that. Consider this book a guide to how to respond in any situation, drive your own bus, and do it all with resilience, joy and attention to what matters most.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lessons of Living, By Nigel Latta. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
4. (NEW) The Secrets of the Lost Vineyard by Erin Palmisano (Hachette)<\/p>\n
Third novel from the Nelson-based American Kiwi.<\/p>\n
From the Listener\u2019s review: \u201cA young woman, LA-based talent agent Victoria Bishop, adopted as a baby by American parents, discovers she has inherited a small family vineyard and a house in the Mendoza wine region in Argentina from her biological family. The wonders of Ancestry.com, hey?<\/p>\n
\u201cPalmisano \u2026 takes a leaf out of the book of Latin American literary writers like Isabelle Allende by using magic realism to tell this story. As Victoria walks through the grapevines of the vineyard, Las Vi\u00f1as, they respond to her presence, moving with her and caressing her. The vineyard also cleverly drops consecutive chapters of her grandmother Luce\u2019s diary at strategic locations around the property over the weeks and months. And through this, we hear the story of Luce and the possible reason why the vineyard has produced no fruit for 50 years \u2026 Through the novel, Palmisano throws in plenty of drama and surprises, building the tension and regularly disclosing revelations. Meanwhile, a lot of entertaining goes on, and the food descriptions will have you salivating. This is what you expect of Palmisano, author of The Secrets of the Little Greek Taverna and a restaurateur \u2026 As an entertaining snapshot of another world where you\u2019re pretty sure of a happy ending, if with some challenges along the way, Palmisano delivers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Secrets of the Lost Vineyard by Erin Palmisano. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
5. (NEW) Black Velvet and Vengeance by Deborah Challinor (HarperCollins)<\/p>\n
Third novel in the historical Tatty Crowe series.<\/p>\n
From the publisher: \u201cLate 1872. When 25-year-old Sydney undertaker Tatiana Crowe travels to Auckland to embalm the body of Evan Hunter\u2019s father, events go horribly wrong, leaving Tatty stricken.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack at home, Tatty has some enormous decisions to make, but finds herself facing challenges both personal and professional. When bodies start to go missing, seemingly snatched from the funeral train en route to the cemetery, it looks like someone is targeting Tatty\u2019s business and everything she holds dear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho has a vendetta against Tatty, and why? With the aid of the family she has made for herself among the misfits of Sydney, she must fend off extortion demands, an irate grieving mother, Darlinghurst Gaol tittle-tattlers and the threat of ruin.<\/p>\n
\u201cFeaturing a fiercely intrepid heroine, Black Velvet and Vengeance vividly and unforgettably shines a light on a fascinating period of Sydney\u2019s history \u2013 life, death and everything in between.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can read Michele Hewitson\u2019s interview with Deborah Challinor here<\/a>.<\/p>\n 6. (5) Become Unstoppable Gilbert Enoka (Penguin)<\/p>\n If there\u2019s one thing Kiwis love as much as a biography from a veteran All Blacks player or coach, it\u2019s a guide to how the ABs perform as well as they do, as consistently as they do \u2013 with the idea that the \u201cwinning mindset\u201d lessons might just rub off on the reader.<\/p>\n From the publisher: \u201cIn a career spanning almost three decades, visionary psychological coach Gilbert Enoka changed the way the All Blacks played their game. With a 77% winning record in test match rugby, the highest of any professional sports team, they are the only international team to have a winning record against every opponent.<\/p>\n That is only possible because they leave no part of their preparation to chance. Their winning mindset and resilience are as important as the physical training and Gilbert Enoka was their secret weapon. \u201cFor the first time, Gilbert distils his essential lessons to building unshakeable staying power \u2013 particularly at times of high pressure where others would crumble \u2013 creating a winning team mentality \u2013 and leaving things better than how you found them so that we can all learn the All Blacks\u2019 way. Discover how to build a winning culture, hone your leadership to inspire your team in times of need and establish iconic rules for performance that will become your competitive advantage for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n 7. (4) The Hollows Boys by Peta Carey (Potton & Burton)<\/p>\n Frequent Listener contributor Peta Carey tells the story of Gary, Mark and Kim, three siblings who grew up on Kawau Island, who all went to Fiordland to hunt venison. It\u2019s a lively, intimate tale, of helicopters, planes and jet boats, of characters and derring-do, of success and joy and risk and loss, full of the voices of the family, of catching deer, fish, crays, with plenty of photos. <\/p>\n 8. (7) Pee Wee the Lonely Kiwi Finds a New Friend by Blair Cooper & Cheryl Smith (Flying Books)<\/p>\n Children\u2019s book about a kiwi looking for a friend, searching high and low, from sea to mountaintop. It was a top seller when it was first published in 2019 and it keeps popping back into the charts for some reason. Will Pee Wee find a friend? You wouldn\u2019t bet against it, though this story has something of a surprise ending.<\/p>\n 9. (3) The Dead Speak by Thomas Coyle (Allen & Unwin)<\/p>\n Memoir of one the country\u2019s top forensic scientists.<\/p>\n From the publisher: \u201cIn this empathetic and darkly funny memoir, Thomas Coyle \u2013 one of New Zealand\u2019s most seasoned forensic investigators \u2013 pulls back the police tape and walks us straight into the crime scenes. With sharp detail, he reveals how the tiniest fragment of evidence can expose a suspect, prove a motive or confirm an identity. Sometimes, all at once.<\/p>\n \u201cBut crime scenes are only part of his story. The Dead Speak also plunges us into the world of disaster victim identification \u2013 a discipline where time, science and compassion collide. Where forensic experts are flung into a race against time to identify bodies in makeshift morgues as desperate families wait for news of their loved ones.<\/p>\n \u201cTaking us from meticulous casework at New Scotland Yard to the chaos of the Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand and the devastation of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, The Dead Speak is both a gripping insider\u2019s account of forensic investigation and an unflinching portrait of humanity at its best and worst.\u201d<\/p>\n 10. (9) A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir by Jacinda Ardern (Penguin)<\/p>\n Jacinda Ardern\u2019s memoir, just shortlisted for the general non-fiction category of this year\u2019s Ockham NZ book awards, is the first such account since the late Jim Bolger\u2019s 1998 effort, A View From the Top.<\/p>\nBlack Velvet and Vengeance by Deborah Challinor. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Become Unstoppable by Gilbert Enoka. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
The Hollows Boys: A story of three brothers & the Fiordland deer recovery era by Peta Carey. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Pee Wee the Lonely Kiwi Finds a New Friend by Blair Cooper and Cheryl Smith. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
The Dead Speak by Thomas Coyle. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n