What do you think?
Rate this book
Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawai'i
Set in one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes, Kuleana is the story of an award-winning journalist’s effort to hold on to her family’s ancestral Hawaiian lands—and find herself along the way.
“A powerful story of land, belonging, loss, and survival that challenges us all to think about what we are responsible for.” —Rebecca Nagle, bestselling author of By the Fire We Carry
From an early age, Sara Kehaulani Goo was enchanted by her family’s land in Hawai‘i. The vast area on the rugged shores of Maui’s east side—given by King Kamehameha III in 1848—extends from mountain to sea, encompassing ninety acres of lush, undeveloped rainforest jungle along the rocky coastline and a massive sixteenth-century temple with a mysterious past.
When a property tax bill arrives with a 500 percent increase, Sara and her family members are forced to make a decision about the fight to keep the land or sell to the next offshore millionaire. When Sara returns to Maui from the mainland, she reconnects with her great-uncle Take and uncovers the story of how much land her family has already lost over generations, centuries-old artifacts from the temple, and the insidious displacement of Native Hawaiians by systemic forces.
Part journalistic offering and part memoir, Kuleana interrogates deeper questions of identity, legacy, and what we owe to those who come before and after us. Sara’s breathtaking story of unexpected homecomings, familial hardship, and fierce devotion to ancestry creates a refreshingly new narrative about Hawai‘i, its native people, and their struggle to hold on to their land and culture today.
“A powerful story of land, belonging, loss, and survival that challenges us all to think about what we are responsible for.” —Rebecca Nagle, bestselling author of By the Fire We Carry
From an early age, Sara Kehaulani Goo was enchanted by her family’s land in Hawai‘i. The vast area on the rugged shores of Maui’s east side—given by King Kamehameha III in 1848—extends from mountain to sea, encompassing ninety acres of lush, undeveloped rainforest jungle along the rocky coastline and a massive sixteenth-century temple with a mysterious past.
When a property tax bill arrives with a 500 percent increase, Sara and her family members are forced to make a decision about the fight to keep the land or sell to the next offshore millionaire. When Sara returns to Maui from the mainland, she reconnects with her great-uncle Take and uncovers the story of how much land her family has already lost over generations, centuries-old artifacts from the temple, and the insidious displacement of Native Hawaiians by systemic forces.
Part journalistic offering and part memoir, Kuleana interrogates deeper questions of identity, legacy, and what we owe to those who come before and after us. Sara’s breathtaking story of unexpected homecomings, familial hardship, and fierce devotion to ancestry creates a refreshingly new narrative about Hawai‘i, its native people, and their struggle to hold on to their land and culture today.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2025
151 people are currently reading
4560 people want to read
About the author
Sara Kehaulani Goo
1 book16 followersSara Kehaulani Goo is a journalist and senior news executive who has led several news organizations including Axios, NPR and The Washington Post. She is the former editor-in-chief at Axios, where she launched the company’s editorial expansion into national and local newsletters, podcasts and live journalism. Before Axios, she led online audience growth as a managing editor at NPR, overseeing the newsroom's digital news operation. Goo also served as news director at The Washington Post, where she also served as a business editor and reporter. Originally from Dana Point, California, she graduated from the University of Minnesota's journalism school. She lives in Washington, D.C.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
March 13, 2025
AYEEE 10/10 would recommend to a friend. (I’m the author’s daughter.) I love this book sm and I’m so proud of her for finding a way to talk about her experiences and struggles with culture, land and Hawai’i. READ ITTTT
October 17, 2025
It is important in any book to make sure the reader is on your side. Finding something universal to say can make a great immediate impression. Sara Kehaulani Goo does that in her book, Kuleana. That universal truth is... everyone hates taxes.
Oh, it is also about family and tradition, but we all hate taxes. The impetus for this book is a skyrocketing tax bill. Goo's family was given a plot of land on Maui by the king(!) before America decided that Hawai'i didn't want to govern itself anymore. After that, there was a concerted effort to eradicate Hawaiian culture and recently, billionaires began gobbling up land and driving housing prices through the stratosphere. (For shame Oprah, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Ellison, and I can't keep going. The list is super long.)
However, that is just the setup, and the heart of the narrative is family and tradition. This part of the story truly shines because Goo is not afraid to ask hard questions of herself. She is descended from various cultures, but the Hawaiian in her is where she wants to truly identify. You'll notice I used "wants." Goo is the first to point out that she is not a native to the islands and has spent most of her life on the mainland. When she goes to Hawaii, she would not be considered native. It would be the same thing if I went to Ireland and said I am Irish. I would be promptly thrown out of the bar.
Goo's attempts to connect with her roots are a huge part of the story. Goo does her best to make that connection to Hawai'i while passing it on to the next generation. Anyone who has a happy place (looking at you, Cape Cod) knows that feeling of relief when you arrive. Goo gets that feeling every time she steps off that (ungodly) long flight. She wants to truly belong and wants to earn it.
The final aspect is the messiness of family. Passing down plots of land is complicated. Within generations, a parcel of land can have dozens of people who can lay claim to it. Getting that many people on the same page is difficult even when there isn't remote Maui property at stake.
Goo looks at all of these factors and is honest about them. Asking people to shell out thousands of dollars for land they might never see is understandable even though holding on to the property is a spiritual quest for the author. She also doesn't fall prey to navel gazing. I can't even count how many memoirs make the mistake of being completely self-centered and myopic (yes, I needed to check and make sure I was using the right word). Instead, when Goo takes the time to leave her family behind on a fact finding mission on the islands, she takes the time to voice how guilty she felt leaving her husband and kids behind for the (relatively) short trip. It is a very small moment among many that let me know as a reader that Goo took the time to consider all sides of this story. I guess you can take the journalist out of D.C., but she'll still be a journalist.
(This book was provided as a review copy by Flatiron Books.)
Oh, it is also about family and tradition, but we all hate taxes. The impetus for this book is a skyrocketing tax bill. Goo's family was given a plot of land on Maui by the king(!) before America decided that Hawai'i didn't want to govern itself anymore. After that, there was a concerted effort to eradicate Hawaiian culture and recently, billionaires began gobbling up land and driving housing prices through the stratosphere. (For shame Oprah, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Ellison, and I can't keep going. The list is super long.)
However, that is just the setup, and the heart of the narrative is family and tradition. This part of the story truly shines because Goo is not afraid to ask hard questions of herself. She is descended from various cultures, but the Hawaiian in her is where she wants to truly identify. You'll notice I used "wants." Goo is the first to point out that she is not a native to the islands and has spent most of her life on the mainland. When she goes to Hawaii, she would not be considered native. It would be the same thing if I went to Ireland and said I am Irish. I would be promptly thrown out of the bar.
Goo's attempts to connect with her roots are a huge part of the story. Goo does her best to make that connection to Hawai'i while passing it on to the next generation. Anyone who has a happy place (looking at you, Cape Cod) knows that feeling of relief when you arrive. Goo gets that feeling every time she steps off that (ungodly) long flight. She wants to truly belong and wants to earn it.
The final aspect is the messiness of family. Passing down plots of land is complicated. Within generations, a parcel of land can have dozens of people who can lay claim to it. Getting that many people on the same page is difficult even when there isn't remote Maui property at stake.
Goo looks at all of these factors and is honest about them. Asking people to shell out thousands of dollars for land they might never see is understandable even though holding on to the property is a spiritual quest for the author. She also doesn't fall prey to navel gazing. I can't even count how many memoirs make the mistake of being completely self-centered and myopic (yes, I needed to check and make sure I was using the right word). Instead, when Goo takes the time to leave her family behind on a fact finding mission on the islands, she takes the time to voice how guilty she felt leaving her husband and kids behind for the (relatively) short trip. It is a very small moment among many that let me know as a reader that Goo took the time to consider all sides of this story. I guess you can take the journalist out of D.C., but she'll still be a journalist.
(This book was provided as a review copy by Flatiron Books.)
December 8, 2025
2025 Goodreads Choice Awards (Mai's Version) - Readers' Favorite History & Biography
ANHPI Heritage Month 2025 #19
I admit, I didn't start off liking this. It felt a little holier than thou, but a memoir is a memoir, and it's hard to judge another person's depiction of their own life.
Sara admits she is 1/8 Native Hawaiian. It's truly not my place to judge how indigenous someone is. What does it mean to be Hawaiian? How much Native Hawaiian blood does it take to "count"? What is the difference between heritage and identity?
Her sister feels differently about being Hawaiian. Things offend her less. She is more practical than emotional. Can two sisters with the same Southern California upbringing feel differently about how Hawaiian they feel raising their children in DC?
I learned a lot about kuleana, ohana, and the connection to the land. The Hawaiian housing plight sounds a lot like the Californian one. I'm not sure a lot is being done about either.
While a lot of this deals with land tax increases and bad governing by a colonial government (the American dream, am I right?), I felt more connected to Sara's family story as a whole.
I did get annoyed when she tried to guilt trip her kids into wearing leis when they clearly didn't want to, but I'm not a mother. Your kids are their own people, and I think you should let them express themselves to an extent.
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
ANHPI Heritage Month 2025 #19
I admit, I didn't start off liking this. It felt a little holier than thou, but a memoir is a memoir, and it's hard to judge another person's depiction of their own life.
Sara admits she is 1/8 Native Hawaiian. It's truly not my place to judge how indigenous someone is. What does it mean to be Hawaiian? How much Native Hawaiian blood does it take to "count"? What is the difference between heritage and identity?
Her sister feels differently about being Hawaiian. Things offend her less. She is more practical than emotional. Can two sisters with the same Southern California upbringing feel differently about how Hawaiian they feel raising their children in DC?
I learned a lot about kuleana, ohana, and the connection to the land. The Hawaiian housing plight sounds a lot like the Californian one. I'm not sure a lot is being done about either.
While a lot of this deals with land tax increases and bad governing by a colonial government (the American dream, am I right?), I felt more connected to Sara's family story as a whole.
I did get annoyed when she tried to guilt trip her kids into wearing leis when they clearly didn't want to, but I'm not a mother. Your kids are their own people, and I think you should let them express themselves to an extent.
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
May 6, 2025
This passionate and intimate memoir celebrates family, wild lands, and Indigenous Hawaiian culture. Including brief history of the once independent sovereign Hawaiian Islands, this is a clear-eyed reckoning of the injustices endured by Native Hawaiians via colonialism, land loss, and the economic challenges of property taxes from rising real estate values.
July 30, 2025
I have some nitpicks, but overall this was beautiful, enlightening memoir/history of family’s relationship with their native Hawaiian ancestry and the land they own on Maui. I highly recommend if you’ve ever wanted to think about Hawaii a little more deeply.
July 22, 2025
I had much different expectations of this book than other readers. My interest was land rights versus the land grabs that have bilked indigenous populations of their basic rights & property as seen through the experience of the author's family. However, this isn't really broached in some depth until about midway through the book, & how these raw deals had been made (& their subtext) cannot be answered due to lack of detailed documentation. Yet this is but a short section of the book, though the threat of losing family land looms throughout. The family is a microcosm of the socio-political scene: how these contentious issues created divisions within a family also mirror the disunity of local groups, even OHA itself, where factions become more enamored of control & power than the greater good & living pono. (Hello, Congress. You, too.)
The book as a whole seemed more an extended Xmas newsletter, with ample details about food (what & where), not just in Hawai'i but in DC. Any situation seems a pretext to mention food (hungry while driving? lucky to have a piece of dried mango in one's pocket), though perhaps it's better to be someone without fear of or shame about eating given how the media has brainwashed us with unrealistic body image expectations. In fact, it often seemed like a guide for future tourists who probably don't care about the problems hidden by the lush landscapes & sunshine. The book has too much Mainlandsplaining, which may not be so bad to do to other Mainlanders, but is highly annoying to locals.
I was genuinely elated that things worked out for the family. I only wish the land issues had been given higher priority over personal life.
The book as a whole seemed more an extended Xmas newsletter, with ample details about food (what & where), not just in Hawai'i but in DC. Any situation seems a pretext to mention food (hungry while driving? lucky to have a piece of dried mango in one's pocket), though perhaps it's better to be someone without fear of or shame about eating given how the media has brainwashed us with unrealistic body image expectations. In fact, it often seemed like a guide for future tourists who probably don't care about the problems hidden by the lush landscapes & sunshine. The book has too much Mainlandsplaining, which may not be so bad to do to other Mainlanders, but is highly annoying to locals.
I was genuinely elated that things worked out for the family. I only wish the land issues had been given higher priority over personal life.
June 17, 2025
This book is at its best when it talks about the history of dispossession in Hawaiʻi—very clear, compelling explanations of the ghoulish way the government has orchestrated massive land theft from the people.
But I struggled with other aspects of the way this book was set up. The chronology is so scrambled, with threads running all over the place; I kept wondering how it would have felt to read this book if it just started in the author's childhood and moved forward from there, or maybe even just starting from 2019 and moving forward from there with brief flashbacks. But there were so many times when a chapter would cover 2020-2022, then the next chapter would start in 2019 and cover 2019-2022, and then another chapter would jump back in time and start in 2001. It just made the whole thing feel muddled.
There was also a significant amount of repetition, which I think is at least partially a result of this scrambled chronology; the author explains the same concept or expresses the same doubts/concerns (often in the form of chapter-ending rhetorical questions) multiple times, sometimes almost word-for-word.
Worth reading for sure, but some questionable execution.
But I struggled with other aspects of the way this book was set up. The chronology is so scrambled, with threads running all over the place; I kept wondering how it would have felt to read this book if it just started in the author's childhood and moved forward from there, or maybe even just starting from 2019 and moving forward from there with brief flashbacks. But there were so many times when a chapter would cover 2020-2022, then the next chapter would start in 2019 and cover 2019-2022, and then another chapter would jump back in time and start in 2001. It just made the whole thing feel muddled.
There was also a significant amount of repetition, which I think is at least partially a result of this scrambled chronology; the author explains the same concept or expresses the same doubts/concerns (often in the form of chapter-ending rhetorical questions) multiple times, sometimes almost word-for-word.
Worth reading for sure, but some questionable execution.
May 30, 2025
Absolutely incredible read. I loved this. I would like to read more from this author.
What a ride this was. I loved learning about Hawaiian culture, land issues native Hawaiian people are facing and everything in between.
This was fascinating from beginning to end. I highly recommend this one if Hawaiian culture is of any interest you you.
What a ride this was. I loved learning about Hawaiian culture, land issues native Hawaiian people are facing and everything in between.
This was fascinating from beginning to end. I highly recommend this one if Hawaiian culture is of any interest you you.
June 16, 2025
Fascinating account of one woman's relationship to her heritage and the land which connected her family to Hawai'i. Sara Kehaulani Goo is a journalist, she uses both her sleuthing and writing skills to tell her and her family's story. Along the way we get history lessons, pandemic musings, family drama, and cultural explanations. I was invested from beginning to end. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the audioARC.
September 22, 2025
When I lived in Hawaii, I was always fascinated with the land and culture surrounding the islands. I made sure that my kids also knew the importance of the language and the history of the land we lived on. So when I saw Kuleana was the author's personal story about the land and her attachment to the culture through her ancestors, I was immediately drawn to in.
Sara Kehaulani Goo's story all stemmed from a huge tax increase on her family's land in Hana on the island of Maui. That's where the story begins. But then she takes us back to her own personal connection, her grandparents especially, the history of the land being doled out centuries before and the family that still lives there and how everyone tries to come together to keep the land with the family and no outsiders. With cultures being erased before our eyes in our current state of affairs in the US, this book was special in that we get to see how a culture is still trying to thrive in a country that has all but taken it away. But Sara, along with her family and previous generations have been doing anything to keep the land and its history as was requested by her grandmother.
I liked that way the author incorporated her own personal story with very relevant topics concerning land, money, and mainlanders changing the Hawaiians way of life. We get to see this woman look into a history she didn't know much about and learn more about the language, her family and her connections to a past through her research. Having lived in Hawaii for 10 years, I really liked that I could connect with the language and it was easy to follow for me. If you're not familiar with the language or history, Goo does a great job with a pronunciation guide and easy to read history of the land.
This may be one woman's story, but it is definitely a story of so many Hawaiians. I think this is a nonfiction book that will definitely appeal to Hawaiians who have left the islands because they could not afford it. It will really connect with them. And if you're not Hawaiian, it's not only a wake up call, but will help you understand Hawaii from a different perspective. I didn't always like the way the timeline of the story went (it jumped around a bit), but it was easy to read and all made sense. I liked that we got the author's life not only in DC, but how she still kept her culture alive with her kids and finding Hawaii where she lives in the mainland.
Overall a good book and would recommend.
Sara Kehaulani Goo's story all stemmed from a huge tax increase on her family's land in Hana on the island of Maui. That's where the story begins. But then she takes us back to her own personal connection, her grandparents especially, the history of the land being doled out centuries before and the family that still lives there and how everyone tries to come together to keep the land with the family and no outsiders. With cultures being erased before our eyes in our current state of affairs in the US, this book was special in that we get to see how a culture is still trying to thrive in a country that has all but taken it away. But Sara, along with her family and previous generations have been doing anything to keep the land and its history as was requested by her grandmother.
I liked that way the author incorporated her own personal story with very relevant topics concerning land, money, and mainlanders changing the Hawaiians way of life. We get to see this woman look into a history she didn't know much about and learn more about the language, her family and her connections to a past through her research. Having lived in Hawaii for 10 years, I really liked that I could connect with the language and it was easy to follow for me. If you're not familiar with the language or history, Goo does a great job with a pronunciation guide and easy to read history of the land.
This may be one woman's story, but it is definitely a story of so many Hawaiians. I think this is a nonfiction book that will definitely appeal to Hawaiians who have left the islands because they could not afford it. It will really connect with them. And if you're not Hawaiian, it's not only a wake up call, but will help you understand Hawaii from a different perspective. I didn't always like the way the timeline of the story went (it jumped around a bit), but it was easy to read and all made sense. I liked that we got the author's life not only in DC, but how she still kept her culture alive with her kids and finding Hawaii where she lives in the mainland.
Overall a good book and would recommend.
Read
September 25, 2025For generations, Sara Kehaulani Goo’s family owned a vast area of land along the coastline of eastern Maui. It was given to her ancestor by King Kamehameha III in 1848. “And for the most part, this land has remained exactly as it was some 175 years ago,” the longtime journalist writes in her debut memoir, 'Kuleana.' “Raw, undeveloped, wild.”
Then one Monday night in 2019, Goo got an email from her father. The property tax bill on the land was increased by 500%. If they couldn’t find a way to pay, he wrote, they may be forced to sell. Goo felt like the ground beneath her shifted. So began a fight to keep the family’s land, and a personal journey for Goo as she returned to Maui, reconnected with her relatives and learned how much generations of her family had already lost.
'Kuleana' is a richly layered story that is part reportage and part memoir. Goo delves into questions about Hawaiian identity and the meaning of legacy and details the urgency with which she felt the need to act to save her family’s land.
“All I knew was, I didn’t want to be the last one whose name was on this ledger,” Goo told Poynter. “And I know that my father didn’t want to either, and I knew that my brothers and sisters and my cousins didn’t want to, either. There was too much at stake. This was not about real estate. This was about family and lineage.”
I spoke with Goo for Poynter about writing her debut, Hawaiian representation in mainstream media, and more. Read on for our full conversation: https://www.poynter.org/reporting-edi...
Then one Monday night in 2019, Goo got an email from her father. The property tax bill on the land was increased by 500%. If they couldn’t find a way to pay, he wrote, they may be forced to sell. Goo felt like the ground beneath her shifted. So began a fight to keep the family’s land, and a personal journey for Goo as she returned to Maui, reconnected with her relatives and learned how much generations of her family had already lost.
'Kuleana' is a richly layered story that is part reportage and part memoir. Goo delves into questions about Hawaiian identity and the meaning of legacy and details the urgency with which she felt the need to act to save her family’s land.
“All I knew was, I didn’t want to be the last one whose name was on this ledger,” Goo told Poynter. “And I know that my father didn’t want to either, and I knew that my brothers and sisters and my cousins didn’t want to, either. There was too much at stake. This was not about real estate. This was about family and lineage.”
I spoke with Goo for Poynter about writing her debut, Hawaiian representation in mainstream media, and more. Read on for our full conversation: https://www.poynter.org/reporting-edi...
August 11, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up. This book was quite fascinating! I learned a lot about the history of Hawai'i and the atrocities inflicted upon it by colonialism and capitalism. I appreciated Goo's journey of self-discovery, leaning what it means to be Native Hawaiian and how that manifests not only in her identity but her family's legacy to protect their land. The most interesting parts of the book, to me, were the Hawai'i history/genealogy bits and the detailed sections of the fight to keep their land in Hana. You can tell Goo is a great reporter, because I think her stronger writing is with the more general nonfiction sections, as opposed to the more personal, memoir sections. She's great at effectively paraphrasing what I'm sure are very nuanced, complicated historical events. I do think the writing was repetitive at times, and I sorely wanted years indicating the beginning of sections/chapters -it was a bit confusing jumping around the timeline so much.
June 23, 2025
A must-read history of Hawai'i from a Native Hawai'an perspective, a family story of land, and an indictment of the horrible treatment of locals by colonial America all the way up to current America. I can’t recommend this highly enough, especially for those Americans who like to vacation on the islands and who may not understand the true cost of colonialism and tourism. This is a nonfiction historical account, a personal memoir, and a tough look at heritage, housing and ownership on the islands.
Source: library hardcover
Source: library hardcover
June 30, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir/exposition on Native Hawaiian culture and history. Goo's quest to reconnect with her culture and hold onto her family's land is admirable. The writing is engaging and accessible to even the most reluctant nonfiction reader. I learned so much about the challenges facing Native Hawaiians in modern Hawai'i. It is heartbreaking and something to consider, especially for those traveling to the area.
Kuleana is a definite must-read for those who love Hawai'i and want to preserve what makes those islands and the culture so special.
Special thanks to @flatiron_books for the complimentary copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own and provided voluntarily.
Kuleana is a definite must-read for those who love Hawai'i and want to preserve what makes those islands and the culture so special.
Special thanks to @flatiron_books for the complimentary copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own and provided voluntarily.
July 10, 2025
Goo’s memoir on identity and connection to Hawai’i also provides a good intro to how Hawaiian systems of land tenure, stewardship, and division have changed to be one of privatization and displacement of Kanaka Maoli. This was a nice read, especially having just worked with the Nation of Hawai’i on their sovereignty movement and ahupua’a restoration!
I will say that some of Goo’s anecdotes (specifically about living in DC) felt a bit out of touch, and at times, the memoir felt a bit repetitive with sections of her narrative that didn’t feel super cohesive.
I will say that some of Goo’s anecdotes (specifically about living in DC) felt a bit out of touch, and at times, the memoir felt a bit repetitive with sections of her narrative that didn’t feel super cohesive.
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1645808644i%2F7494844._UX200_CR0%2C6%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
November 25, 2025
I know next to nothing about Hawai'i, so this was a lovely memoir/history about Goo's family and the people of the Hawaiian islands, specifically that of Maui and the town of Hana.
This is a story of land theft over two centuries, and how Goo has fought to reclaim her own heritage of being Hawaiian while her family fought to retain the lands that had been in their care for two hundred years.
I really enjoyed it, and learned a lot. It's a story of imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism.
This is a story of land theft over two centuries, and how Goo has fought to reclaim her own heritage of being Hawaiian while her family fought to retain the lands that had been in their care for two hundred years.
I really enjoyed it, and learned a lot. It's a story of imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism.
October 15, 2025
Another book that will stay with me forever! The author (Big respect) told an impressive story about the difficulty of keeping ancestral land while living far away!
It’s heartbreaking how many Native Hawaiians can’t afford to live in HI., and many move to Las Vegas! Ugg!
Missionaries, sugar cane plantations,and people with too much money have impacted the beauty & culture of this enchanted land and it’s beautiful people!
It’s heartbreaking how many Native Hawaiians can’t afford to live in HI., and many move to Las Vegas! Ugg!
Missionaries, sugar cane plantations,and people with too much money have impacted the beauty & culture of this enchanted land and it’s beautiful people!
July 2, 2025
4.5 stars
September 15, 2025
I love learning about things that weren’t on my radar, and this falls into that category. Super interesting and moving. Also this Hana Highway sounds terrifying lol
September 19, 2025
This is a great intro into Hawaiian history, culture and native dispossession. The book is strongest here. The memoir portions ran a bit long and were repetitive. Goo’s family story is really remarkable, just wished it was a bit tighter and flowed better.
June 11, 2025
A beautiful look into Hawaiian culture and land while also highlighting Hawaiian history.
September 1, 2025
So much promise. I appreciated the glossary of Hawaiian terms and learning some about the islands and their people. But the book dragged at times, leaving me to quit 2/3 of the way through. It was due back at the library and I wasn’t inclined to keep reading.
January 4, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
The word “Kuleana” in Hawaiian means responsibility. But not the begrudging kind of responsibility, the proud, dutiful kind of responsibility. Kehaulani’s “Kuleana” and way of preserving her culture was to protect a precious plot of their ancestors land from becoming an overdeveloped ecologically destructive resort or billionaires vacation home, as most other native Hawaiian land had become. But for other people she met, their Kuleana was to teach Hawaiian at the university, or help teach a Hula class on the weekend. They all used what they were given to fulfill their responsibility. I think especially in the United States, where so many cultures melt together, and immigrant’s kids and grandkids adopt the “American” culture, we have a “kuleana”, or responsibility, to protect and pass on our families culture, to help us learn ourselves and connect us.
Kehaulani’s thoughts on being a mixed-race person in America resonated with me, and helped me solidify how i feel about myself. She summarizes: “I have come to realize that my Native Hawaiian identity is not something from my blood quantum or from the Mahele or something dictated by where I was born. It's not for others to tell me who l am, relatives or not, Hawaii or mainland. It's not something a government agency decides, nor frankly is it something for locals or mainland residents to judge. Its something I was given by my kupuna and also had to seek, accept, and understand on my own.
It's something I must choose to practice and pass on—or not.”
Mixed people are not fractions: 1/4 or 1/3 or 1/8. They are full people, who are 100% of each thing, whatever they are connected to. For people mixed with white, white passing privilege is real and must be acknowledged, but it doesnt have to take away from your culture and identity.
This book reminded me again about the struggle of the native Hawaiian people. How the United States has been actively decimating their population for centuries: first with diseases and colonial violence. But now with egregiously high costs of living/land/taxes resulting in hawaii having the highest percentage of the population be homeless, the majority being native hawaiian. Just so tourists can have another resort, or another billionaire can have another hawaiian property. How. Tragic. The united states colonial legacy lives on.
As non-Hawaiian Americans who may visit hawaii, we can help. Either by not visiting hawaii. Or by supporting native Hawaiian businesses: staying in hawaiian family homestays, hotels run by hawaiians, native run shops, buying local art. By NOT staying in resorts, who are actively displacing families. By educating yourself on the history, and by trying to learn the very basics of the language before you go. “After all, what is Hawaii without Hawaiians?”
The word “Kuleana” in Hawaiian means responsibility. But not the begrudging kind of responsibility, the proud, dutiful kind of responsibility. Kehaulani’s “Kuleana” and way of preserving her culture was to protect a precious plot of their ancestors land from becoming an overdeveloped ecologically destructive resort or billionaires vacation home, as most other native Hawaiian land had become. But for other people she met, their Kuleana was to teach Hawaiian at the university, or help teach a Hula class on the weekend. They all used what they were given to fulfill their responsibility. I think especially in the United States, where so many cultures melt together, and immigrant’s kids and grandkids adopt the “American” culture, we have a “kuleana”, or responsibility, to protect and pass on our families culture, to help us learn ourselves and connect us.
Kehaulani’s thoughts on being a mixed-race person in America resonated with me, and helped me solidify how i feel about myself. She summarizes: “I have come to realize that my Native Hawaiian identity is not something from my blood quantum or from the Mahele or something dictated by where I was born. It's not for others to tell me who l am, relatives or not, Hawaii or mainland. It's not something a government agency decides, nor frankly is it something for locals or mainland residents to judge. Its something I was given by my kupuna and also had to seek, accept, and understand on my own.
It's something I must choose to practice and pass on—or not.”
Mixed people are not fractions: 1/4 or 1/3 or 1/8. They are full people, who are 100% of each thing, whatever they are connected to. For people mixed with white, white passing privilege is real and must be acknowledged, but it doesnt have to take away from your culture and identity.
This book reminded me again about the struggle of the native Hawaiian people. How the United States has been actively decimating their population for centuries: first with diseases and colonial violence. But now with egregiously high costs of living/land/taxes resulting in hawaii having the highest percentage of the population be homeless, the majority being native hawaiian. Just so tourists can have another resort, or another billionaire can have another hawaiian property. How. Tragic. The united states colonial legacy lives on.
As non-Hawaiian Americans who may visit hawaii, we can help. Either by not visiting hawaii. Or by supporting native Hawaiian businesses: staying in hawaiian family homestays, hotels run by hawaiians, native run shops, buying local art. By NOT staying in resorts, who are actively displacing families. By educating yourself on the history, and by trying to learn the very basics of the language before you go. “After all, what is Hawaii without Hawaiians?”
July 8, 2025
Imagine being handed 90 acres of lush Maui jungle by a king in 1848, only to watch your property taxes skyrocket 500% faster than tourists can snap selfies at the heiau—a massive 13th-century temple hidden in the rainforest. That’s the exact emotional rollercoaster Goo stumbles onto when she returns from the mainland to reckon with ancestral land, family squabbles, and maybe—just maybe—a spiritual treasure hunt under tropical vines.
washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com
Goo’s dual reporter-memoir voice is equal parts investigative sleuth and sentimental beachcomber—complete with hummingbird-paced journalism and family gossip by tikis .
Her descriptions of the heiau are downright cinematic: black basalt walls, rainforest grandeur, and “tidal wave of black” vibes that fuel both personal awakening and career “Ah‑ha!” moment.
The real estate drama is hilariously tense: offshore millionaires eyeing your backyard, bureaucrats demanding tax gold, and Goo’s relatives debating whether to grow taro or cash in.
If you’re in the mood for a heartfelt, island-flavored memoir spiced with eco-activism, family intrigue, and ancient temple vibes, Kuleana delivers. It’s got the warmth of an aloha hug, the teeth of a tax audit, and just enough mossy temple mystery to keep you hooked. Minus one star only because I almost needed a flowchart to track all the family backstories—but hey, sometimes land and legacy are complex!
washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com
Goo’s dual reporter-memoir voice is equal parts investigative sleuth and sentimental beachcomber—complete with hummingbird-paced journalism and family gossip by tikis .
Her descriptions of the heiau are downright cinematic: black basalt walls, rainforest grandeur, and “tidal wave of black” vibes that fuel both personal awakening and career “Ah‑ha!” moment.
The real estate drama is hilariously tense: offshore millionaires eyeing your backyard, bureaucrats demanding tax gold, and Goo’s relatives debating whether to grow taro or cash in.
If you’re in the mood for a heartfelt, island-flavored memoir spiced with eco-activism, family intrigue, and ancient temple vibes, Kuleana delivers. It’s got the warmth of an aloha hug, the teeth of a tax audit, and just enough mossy temple mystery to keep you hooked. Minus one star only because I almost needed a flowchart to track all the family backstories—but hey, sometimes land and legacy are complex!
July 18, 2025
Audiobook DNFed at 47%. I wanted to like this one since I want to learn more about the effects of American imperialism on Hawai’i. But between being a memoir and being a piece of investigative reporting, KULEANA leaned way too much into the former, becoming very maudlin and slow and repetitive at times with her recounting of her family relationships, her career as a journalist on the East Coast, and her childhood memories. It did not give enough information for me on Hawai’i and the challenges of native land ownership.
July 29, 2025
I was not impressed with this book. It is hard to believe that the author was a longtime journalist for WP, NPR, and Axios. A great deal of the writing was redundant. Additionally, a strong editorial hand would have improved it. Some descriptions of Maui were evocative. Some descriptions of family conflicts were mildly diverting. But I would not recommend. The writing was like an undergraduate’s—so simplistic, and repetitive.
August 6, 2025
✨ Review ✨ Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawai'i by and narrated by Sara Kehaulani Goo
Thanks to Macmillan Audio and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!
Sara Kehaulani Goo’s family owns a piece of land in Hana, a largely undeveloped part of Maui -- it's been in their family for generations. When property taxes shot up on the land, the family sought solutions to help keep the land.
This is part memoir of Goo’s own experiences finding a connection to her Hawaiian identity, and part narrative non-fiction exploration of land ownership, dispossession and the history of Hawaii. I loved the blend of history and learning more about her journey to find this connection to family and the land.
At times, the topics are a little bit meandering because of this blend of memoir and journalism, though appreciated all of the topics she explored here. I was super interested throughout the whole book! It also reminded me a lot of the shady land practices described by Dolen Perkins-Valdez in Happy Land, about the ways that land was wrested from black families.
🎧 I love non-fiction read by the author, because it brings in their own passion for the topic. (although usually author-read books, I can't turn up the speed up quite as much as normal - this one included). Definitely a great non-fiction listen!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(4.25 stars)
Genre: non-fiction - history, culture, memoir
Setting: Maui, Hawaii and Mainland US
Length: 11.3 hours
Pub Date: June 2025
Read this if you like:
⭕️ learning about the history and present of colonization and land dispossession
⭕️ memoir mixed with journalistic style writing
⭕️ Hawaii
⭕️ generational transmission of identity
Thanks to Macmillan Audio and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!
Sara Kehaulani Goo’s family owns a piece of land in Hana, a largely undeveloped part of Maui -- it's been in their family for generations. When property taxes shot up on the land, the family sought solutions to help keep the land.
This is part memoir of Goo’s own experiences finding a connection to her Hawaiian identity, and part narrative non-fiction exploration of land ownership, dispossession and the history of Hawaii. I loved the blend of history and learning more about her journey to find this connection to family and the land.
At times, the topics are a little bit meandering because of this blend of memoir and journalism, though appreciated all of the topics she explored here. I was super interested throughout the whole book! It also reminded me a lot of the shady land practices described by Dolen Perkins-Valdez in Happy Land, about the ways that land was wrested from black families.
🎧 I love non-fiction read by the author, because it brings in their own passion for the topic. (although usually author-read books, I can't turn up the speed up quite as much as normal - this one included). Definitely a great non-fiction listen!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(4.25 stars)
Genre: non-fiction - history, culture, memoir
Setting: Maui, Hawaii and Mainland US
Length: 11.3 hours
Pub Date: June 2025
Read this if you like:
⭕️ learning about the history and present of colonization and land dispossession
⭕️ memoir mixed with journalistic style writing
⭕️ Hawaii
⭕️ generational transmission of identity
September 20, 2025
2.5 stars
I feel a certain way about this book. At the start, I was drawn in by Goo’s writing, the history of not just her family, but the entirety of their roots and how they came to be in possession of the land. I connected with her descriptions of the islands and her depictions of her extended family. I was drawn into the mystery of the temple, and was in awe of the land. And, whooo, boy did I ever feel the schoolyard taunting of her last name.
But all that faded so so quickly. And listen, I’m not going to air all my grievances with the story or her claims here. The feels I’m feeling, the struggles I have with her claims and with some of her adult actions are mine alone, and I will parse them in private. Or…I won’t, and that’ll be okay, too.
The struggles I will share here had to do with the fact that it felt like this book went straight to publishing, without the benefit of a second pair of eyes, much less an editor. There was a point where the writing grated on me, but that didn’t set me off as much as the repetition of content. Was she aiming for a certain page count? That’s honestly how it felt, given the way she crammed the same information and details into chapters as the book wore on.
I do admit I for a bit frustrated by the order in which she shared stories and information, as well. Alternating timeliness can be a good thing, if they’re done correctly…they just weren’t, here, and it was distracting.
I wanted to be engaged by this, I wanted to learn more about my own heritage, and to celebrate others in the Hawaiian culture who were able to overcome and reclaim something important that was taken from them. I wanted to be able to share this with the API employee network that I started at work, to be able to point to this story and say, “See? This is why I’m always saying that it’s so important that we remember the heritage of a place, instead of just viewing it as a “paradise”; you have to remember there’s a history, and you have to honor that, even if (when) it’s a hard or difficult past.”
But, I just can’t. Not the way it’s presented.
I feel a certain way about this book. At the start, I was drawn in by Goo’s writing, the history of not just her family, but the entirety of their roots and how they came to be in possession of the land. I connected with her descriptions of the islands and her depictions of her extended family. I was drawn into the mystery of the temple, and was in awe of the land. And, whooo, boy did I ever feel the schoolyard taunting of her last name.
But all that faded so so quickly. And listen, I’m not going to air all my grievances with the story or her claims here. The feels I’m feeling, the struggles I have with her claims and with some of her adult actions are mine alone, and I will parse them in private. Or…I won’t, and that’ll be okay, too.
The struggles I will share here had to do with the fact that it felt like this book went straight to publishing, without the benefit of a second pair of eyes, much less an editor. There was a point where the writing grated on me, but that didn’t set me off as much as the repetition of content. Was she aiming for a certain page count? That’s honestly how it felt, given the way she crammed the same information and details into chapters as the book wore on.
I do admit I for a bit frustrated by the order in which she shared stories and information, as well. Alternating timeliness can be a good thing, if they’re done correctly…they just weren’t, here, and it was distracting.
I wanted to be engaged by this, I wanted to learn more about my own heritage, and to celebrate others in the Hawaiian culture who were able to overcome and reclaim something important that was taken from them. I wanted to be able to share this with the API employee network that I started at work, to be able to point to this story and say, “See? This is why I’m always saying that it’s so important that we remember the heritage of a place, instead of just viewing it as a “paradise”; you have to remember there’s a history, and you have to honor that, even if (when) it’s a hard or difficult past.”
But, I just can’t. Not the way it’s presented.
Read
May 31, 2025Sara’s story is important. This discusses the impacts the United States government has had on Hawaiian Natives, their land, and their culture. Sara Kehaulani Goo as part native Hawaiian shares her journey with her Hawaiian heritage as well as the struggles her family has had with their inherited land. Sara is a journalist by trade and you can see how she found a way to highlight problems o ur side of herself with her personal experience. She has a large respect for the Hawaiian culture despite spending a lot of her life off island. You can see her try to connect to her Hawaiian roots.
Personally, I felt this is great for people who truly want to understand the struggles Hawaiian’s are facing, but unless that is important to you this is missing a lot of emotional pull. I often found myself wishing Goo had found a way to weave her story into literary fiction because I feel it would be more impactful to the general audience and I would love to see this information be enjoyed and understood by a broader audience.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for and ALC
Personally, I felt this is great for people who truly want to understand the struggles Hawaiian’s are facing, but unless that is important to you this is missing a lot of emotional pull. I often found myself wishing Goo had found a way to weave her story into literary fiction because I feel it would be more impactful to the general audience and I would love to see this information be enjoyed and understood by a broader audience.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for and ALC
June 1, 2025
“The kuleana of perpetuating Hawaiian culture is alive and well but remains—as it always has—a struggle.”
This is such a lovely memoir. A fascinating and important look into the history and culture of Hawaii told through the lens of one woman’s quest to learn about her family history and fulfill her kuleana as her family grapples with the potential loss of their ancestral land. This book feels like it exists in the same niche as The Rooster House, which I also adored, so perhaps it is unsurprising that this was SO for me.
A very very important story about how Hawaiians “became landless in their own kingdom” that everyone should read!
This is such a lovely memoir. A fascinating and important look into the history and culture of Hawaii told through the lens of one woman’s quest to learn about her family history and fulfill her kuleana as her family grapples with the potential loss of their ancestral land. This book feels like it exists in the same niche as The Rooster House, which I also adored, so perhaps it is unsurprising that this was SO for me.
A very very important story about how Hawaiians “became landless in their own kingdom” that everyone should read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews