Real Life

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, […]

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 […]

Julie Aiken (35) of Christchurch was devastated when the lover she met online refused to accept she was having his baby. So she took desperate measures to find her son another dad. When I hear about people trying to find their birth fathers, I always think of my two-year-old son Blair and how one day […]

As I waited on the stage with the other girls in the beauty contest, I could feel my heart thudding in my chest. Then I heard my name. “The first runner-up is… oelinda Bennett!” There were cheers from the crowd as I went forward to get my sash. The person handing it out had to […]

Aucklander Karamea Matthes (26) thought she’d never have another baby after being hurt saving her son’s life. But baby Kalani is proof miracles do happen. “When I look at my tiny daughter Kalani, I can hardly believe she is here. My month-old newborn is the baby I thought I could never have, the child I […]

Lorraine Kondra (48) is standing by her convicted paedophile brother Colin Trevor Davies, despite being forced from her Christchurch home after her neighbours learned about his application for home detention. To my ex-neighbours, I want you to know I hold no malice against you. But my friends have been sworn at and abused when they […]

Tracey ocoahon (34), of Christchurch, was forced to watch her lover being stabbed 70 times by her jealous ex, was smeared with the murdered man’s blood and then kidnapped with her four young children. With the killer now jailed for life, Tracey reveals to New Zealand Woman’s Weekly how she survived that hellish day, saved […]

Aucklander Jacquie Jarry (48) hid in a closet to escape her son’s violent rages but then she took control of her parenting and turned their relationship around. She tells her story exclusively to New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. With one arm wrapped protectively around my baby, I crouched down in the closet, pulling the door shut […]

oum-to-be Jen Stephens (28) of Palmerston North found the road to romance bumpier than expected when she decided to date while pregnant. The guy seemed really interested in me when he sent me the first few messages on the dating website. “So, what sort of things do you like to do?” he asked. “Do you […]

Karly Smith of Auckland has been keeping a painful secret under her hat – she’s losing her hair. I woke to see my Dad leaning over me. It was barely light outside. “Karly, come with me, there’s something I want to show you,” he said. Whatever Dad had to tell me, I didn’t want to […]

Atawhai was only 10 years old when she died tragically in 1990. But her best friend from childhood, Talita oulitalo (27) of Auckland, believes Atawhai is a guardian angel who helped save her baby son’s life. This is her thank-you letter to the little girl she has never forgotten. “Dear Atawhai, I still remember the […]