Real Life

The death of her obese friend Sharon Bishop has made Miranda Gray Taufa determined to slim down from a dangerous 229kg. If the 41-year-old from Gisborne doesn’t lose weight, she could die. Feeling my chest tighten, I sleepily felt around in the dark for my asthma pump. “I’m sure I had it next to me,” […]

Sarah-Kate Lynch learns to see animal prints as more than home furnishing Generally speaking, when it comes to travelling, my idea of adventure is to order full-fat milk instead of trim with my breakfast coffee. I always thought I was a Paris/London/New York sort of a girl. It’s not for me – all that bumping […]

Brave Maryse Dinan (24) of Hamilton said no to further cancer treatment in the hope that one day she’ll hold her own baby in her arms. She tells her story to New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. oy specialist smiled at me and said, “I think you’re one of the strongest people I’ve met.” I didn’t feel […]

Auckland mum-of-two Michelle Green’s fear of spiders is so bad that she’s been trapped in her home by the creepy-crawlies.  Michelle (36) tells how she coped with a real-life invasion of the eight-legged kind. Pinned in the corner of my tiny laundry, fighting for breath and feeling as if my heart was going to jump […]

Phil Kerslake was given 10 years to live when he was diagnosed with cancer as a teenager. But nearly four decades and five more bouts of the killer disease later, he’s still going strong. When a doctor told Phil Kerslake two years ago, “I’m sorry, it’s cancer,” Phil’s first thought was, “Here we go again.” […]

Antonia Davies (35) of Hamilton grew up in a nightmare of abuse and rape. But she was determined to get justice one day. In a corner of my living room is a black and white photo of me as one-year-old. At first glance it looks perfect. I’m sitting on a wool rug, in a studio, […]

After being separated for five years and getting a divorce, Kelly Pogan (30) of oount oaunganui has said `I do!’ to ex-husband Shaun (31) for a second time. **”I never fell out of love with him.” – Kelly’s story **over my dead body,” I always said when anyone suggested I might reunite with my ex-husband, […]

Angela Haskell thought her son Richard had a happy New Year in Thailand. But the celebrations had taken a sinister twist – and Richard became a murder suspect. I smiled when I saw I had a text message on my cellphone from my husband owen, who was travelling in Asia with our son Richard. I […]

Aromas like flowers, coffee or perfume used to smell disgusting to Dunedin graphic designer Trina Liggins (35). But after ground-breaking surgery to cure her rare disorder, her life has changed. Getting a bunch of roses used to make me want to throw up. To me, the smell of flowers wasn’t sweet or romantic. Instead, they […]

They look like a typical loving mother and child – the little girl skipping happily and holding hands with the smiling woman as they walk along the beach. The woman calls out, “Be careful!” as the child races away to clamber over the rocks. The pretty four-year-old calls back, “I will, oum.” But Maria* is […]