Go Hard or Go Home: My story

by Kiri Allan

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 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 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 4, 2026

Reviews

[Kay Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fairly robust tale from former NZ Minister of Justice Kiri Allan on her struggles growing up, the challenges she surpassed, how she came to be first a law student from a poor nonacademic family to eventually becoming a Member of Parliament and Minister in Labour's Cabinet. Her story covers her fall from grace with a drunk driving chargem and her personal burn out and health challenges, after she survived surgery for cervical cancer. She shares her joys like co-parenting their daughter with her former wife Natalie. She also shares apologies for various misdeeds but also defends her record as an MP and Minister.

To her mind Kiri wasn't a bully. Those claims by a journalist, she attributes to the combination of expecting officials to do their jobs and their covering up their failures. In the case of Department of Conservation officials are shown as ignoring Treaty of Waitangi obligations in agreements with iwi. It's easy to see why some officials would rather complain than do the work required. Her point about how wāhine Māori MPs were singled out for accusations of bullying is also well made.

Jacinda Ardern showed well in this book, Chris Hipkins not so much.

Did I accept Kiri's views as the unvarnished truth throughout? Not entirely. Kiri's views and voice are strong though and I certainly respected her telling of the story. She and I would probably not be natural friends but I would hope we could be allies in her ongoing search for justice, particularly for Māori and for Aotearoa as a whole.

[Sherralynne Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read

I really loved Kiri's story. Gutsy story telling, like Kiri has shared, always leaves me inspired. I had the pleasure of meeting Kiri in November 2020, after flooding occurred in Napier. Her genuine care and empathy shone through while she engaged with people at the pop-up centre established to provide support to those affected by the flooding.

Thanks Kiri for your mahi, you left Aotearoa in a much better position.

[Emma]

I ordinarily don't read political memoirs but Allan has written an accesible story of her life up to and including her time as an MP and Minister. There's lots to like here about growing up in NZ, being Māori, indigenous activism, as well as politics.
Recommend.

No star rating as I don't feel it is appropriate to rate personal stories

[Melissa Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio of this and really enjoyed it! I had a lot of respect and admiration for Kiri prior to reading it and I have even more now. I wish it had been longer! I wanted more 😃

[Rebecca Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book and her honesty and transparency but found the writing a bit clunky at times.