EDITOR’S LETTER

My career choice was decided at age 12, on a “go to work with Mum” day during the school holidays. Mum was a librarian at The New Zealand Herald and, luckily for me, the day I visited happened to be one when all hell was breaking loose in Parliament. (I forget why now, but it was a big deal.) Harried journalists streamed in and out of the Herald library in search of old newspaper clippings for background information for their stories – driven by looming deadlines – and my mum was in the hub of it all. While for some kids a day at your parent’s work might be a chore, I sat there mesmerised. On the spot I decided I would one day be one of those journalists; finding the news and telling the stories.

I landed my first job on a community newspaper five years after that, and – countless years and many newspaper and magazine jobs later – journalism still has my heart. Why? Because of people like Farid Ahmed. The Christchurch man survived the mosque tragedy last March, but lost his beloved wife Husna. It’s a loss that is still felt very deeply, one year on, but he has spoken out to honour his wife, their love and her bravery that day. In our exclusive interview on page 46, Farid talks about why forgiveness has been such an important part of his healing.

I am always genuinely humbled by people like Farid who welcome us into their homes and their lives, and appear in the pages of this magazine; people who share their stories with such courage and honesty. There is a lot more great reading in this month’s magazine, too – Paula Bennett’s story about why liking yourself is a powerful, life-changing thing; the Casketeers opening up about how therapy has changed their lives; bestselling Kiwi author Stacy Gregg on following your passion; and transgender actor and teacher Lexie Matheson’s story about finding her true self.

Not to mention, the inspiring icons Dolly Parton and Oprah! Enjoy.

“If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.”

- Maya Angelou