IN 1883 A MAORI PROPHET WARNED THAT A DEMON WAS ON ITS WAY. IN 2021 IT IS HERE.
HE ARA ANŌ
THERE IS ANOTHER WAY
SYNOPSIS
A STORY OF DRUG ADDICTION, MAORI WAHINE,
AND THE POWER OF RECOVERY.
“There is a demon on its way. It is a demon that will arrive stealthily and deviously; you will not even see it coming. So when you see the effect in the eyes of your mokopuna, do not punish them, instead clothe them with a korowai of love.”
These words, phophesised in 1883, could easily have been written about Jesse’s and Rochelle’s story. Close sisters, they share their moving and at times painful journey, opening up about lost childhoods, marital abuse, destructive behaviour and finally the road to recovery. Their story is all too familiar to Dame Naida Glavish DNZM, who uncovers long-forgotten truths Aotearoa has buried - revealing how a disconnection with wairua (spirituality) creates fertile ground for addiction to take hold of young wāhine such as Jesse and Rochelle.
QUOTES
“My kids keep me sober, my husband, my relationships that I have now keep me wanting to keep sober.”
Rochelle van Niekerk
“I still battle with my demons. I still have massive amounts of insecurities and anxieties that take me down, but that monster is gone, like I don’t feel that bottomless pit of nothing anymore.”
Jesse Tahau
“There's not a family in New Zealand that can say they are not affected by some sort of addiction.”
Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish DNZM JP