The Things We Live With is a collection of essays about how we learn to live with the ‘things’ handed down in families which we carry throughout our lives: not only material objects, but also grief, memory, anxiety and depression. It’s about notions of home and restlessness, inheritance and belonging – and, above all, the ways we tell our stories to ourselves and other people.

From a cultural upbringing in Aotearoa NZ this is a personal journey tracking a woman's response to bereavement. "I needed to be a happier me" she reflects, becoming intent on battling the conditions and diseases that have taken away her father, mother, and brother. Her fitness quest leads her to over 35s Bodybuilding Competition, and what follows is inspirational. A collection of poems, photos, memories, tables and physical training information convey thoughts, philosophies and insights from a

Tree With No Leaves is a deeply personal diary account of Sorja’s emotional, mental, spiritual and physical struggles with loss and illness over two decades of her life. From the anguish of infertility and IVF in her thirties to a shattering breast cancer diagnosis in her forties, it is through her enduring sense of humour, sheer will and her I’m not done yet! attitude that Sorja is still here to share her story.