Leilani Tamu
Leilani Tamu is a poet, Fulbright alumna and former New Zealand diplomat. She has ancestral and marital ties to Samoa, Tonga and Niue. Her first book The Art of Excavation was long listed in the 2015 Ockham national book awards. Leilani was born in Auckland in 1982.

My childhood was branded by shame. I'll no longer let it define me
If we want to address family violence in Aotearoa, we need to change the way we act and think about shame.