Reviewed by Andrea Molloy from www.nzbooklovers.co.nz, "Honest and moving, this is a memoir of public life, personal reckoning and reinvention. It is a valuable read for anyone interested in the human cost of leadership and what it takes to find a way forward after very public failure."
Reviewed by Richard Pamatatau from www.ketebooks.co.nz Ketebooks.co.nz, "She recounts her experiences with a directness that is as refreshing and enlightening as it is disturbingly honest... I'd argue that Go Hard or Go Home is important reading not only for wāhine Māori but for anyone in Aotearoa New Zealand seeking insight into the challenges of navigating public expectations while remaining true to oneself. It is a memoir marked by courage, vulnerability, and resilience, qualities that make Allan's story compelling far beyond the crash brought her to national attention ahead of her other achievements."
From the front bench to rock bottom: Go Hard or Go Home is Kiri Allan's fearless memoir of ambition, disruption and survival in NZ politics and beyond.
Kiri Allan's six-year political career spanned some of the most challenging times in recent history. Events a government might encounter once in a generation stacked up: a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption, destructive and deadly weather events, a global pandemic . . . And as a highly recognisable figure, Kiri's overlapping personal story also played out under scrutiny: divorce, new parenthood, cancer diagnosis and treatment, and mental health struggles culminating in the car crash that led to her resignation.
Go Hard or Go Home is the story of the person beyond the headlines, from church-going child to charismatic hitch-hiker to precocious law student to former politician. Honest, fierce and deeply moving, Kiri's memoir asks what it costs to keep going when you can't live in half measures, and what it takes to rebuild your life.
Kiri Allan
Paperback, 272 pages
H: 233mm W: 153mm Spine: 20mm
Weight: 346 grams