Real Life

Arriving back in New Zealand after four and a half years in London, I was looking forward to being home, smelling the fresh air, taking in the blue sea, settling down and finding myself a man. I picked up a magazine and laughed as I read an article on dating. There were profiles of country […]

I have a problem with a colleague who is bullying me at work. They belittle me at every opportunity in front of our colleagues. I really need some advice on how to handle this situation as I am starting to dread going to work. It’s got so bad I’m even taking my frustrations out on […]

I popped the 32nd pill into my mouth and swallowed it. But it was only when I ended up in hospital that I began to realise the enormity of what I’d done. After being extremely ill, I started to come around and found my mother sitting beside me. Two drips had been inserted into one […]

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, […]