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It’s the book you reach out for when you’re walking in the dark.
Champions Are Made in the Dark: A Story of Loss, Strength and Becoming is a book of hardship, hope, and the courage to keep going.
“The ‘dark’ is the part of life people often don’t see: loss, hardship, doubt, and the days when getting through is all you can manage,” the Taranaki author and speaker Tui Katene said.
“…[it’s] written for anyone who has walked through a difficult season and wondered whether they have what it takes to keep going.”
The writing process for Tui began in 2019 with bits and pieces, comparing memories with brother Michael along the way.
“The hardest part was returning to painful experiences and deciding how much to share. I wanted to be honest while keeping sight of why I was telling the story: to show what it can take to move through the dark,” Tui said.
When her brother passed only months after she started writing, the book was put on the shelf.
“I poured everything onto the page, and then I stopped. I’m still not sure why. Maybe I wasn’t ready,” Tui said.
“Or maybe the book wasn’t ready for the world.”
Like a light switched on, Tui woke up one morning and finished the manuscript. Champions Are Made in the Dark was released in August of 2026.
The book was self-published, a challenge within itself with learning curves that she overcame as she went.
As more and more people picked up Champions, the more emotional feedback Tui received.
Many readers resonated with the hardship and recognised parts of their own lives in the story. For others, the experiences of violence and going without food were unfamiliar, opening their eyes to a side of life they had not experienced themselves.
The most rewarding feedback has been from readers encouraging others to read it too.
“People have felt the story deeply, and they’ve wanted other people to read it… Hearing someone say, ‘you’ve got to read this book,’ means a lot to me.”
Ultimately, the book is not only about what happened to Tui Katene. It is about what can come after hardship, and the possibility that where a person begins does not have to determine where they end up.
“I wrote this book for the 15-year-old me, so she would have had something to reach for,” Tui said.
“…and to tell that story in the hope that someone facing their own difficult days might find something in it to hold on to.”
Champions Are Made in the Dark is a raw and deeply personal story of loss, strength, resilience and becoming. Tui Katene shares a journey shaped by adversity, family, sport, heartbreak and the moments that test us when no one else is watching. For anyone who has experienced loss, faced adversity, questioned their own strength or simply needed a reason to keep going, this book is a reminder that where you begin does not have to determine where you finish.
Follow Tui Katene:
Website and books: https://www.tuikatene.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuikatene/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tuikateneauthor
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tuikatene
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuikatene
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tuikatene
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@tuikatene
