by Lucy Slight, Stuff
This article first appeared in The House of Wellness magazine.
Life coach Tracy Manu has spent more than 15 years helping people get unstuck. Now, she’s written the book she wishes she had when she needed it most. Hononga is a soulful, practical guide to living with more clarity, courage and connection, drawing on Māori wisdom, lived experience and powerful client stories.
At the heart of Hononga (the Māori word for ‘connection’) is a call to reconnect with what truly matters. Tracy says the idea for the book came after years of noticing a common thread among her coaching clients. “People are just disconnected from themselves, from the people around them, from the mahi they’re doing and from seeing their own potential,” she explains.
“I can only support so many people through coaching. A book was a way to get the message to more people, especially now, when we’re all scrolling, rushing and living in this hyper-busy world.”
Divided into three sections – Whakaritea (Prepare), Tiritiria (Cultivate) and Whiria (Weave) – Hononga gently guides readers through self-enquiry, healing and the reclamation of authentic living. While grounded in universal concepts like purpose, values and relationships, the book is deeply rooted in Tracy’s own journey of reconnection with te ao Māori.
“Reconnecting with my whakapapa awakened something that was already in me,” she says. “It allowed me to see the world differently, through rhythms, the seasons, the moon, the tides. I realised we’re not meant to push ourselves every day of every month.”
That deeper connection to nature also shaped how Tracy wrote the book, living the lessons of Hononga while it came together. “There were days where I just didn’t have creativity,” she recalls. “So I started checking in with my own flow, with the moon, and I saw that there were times where the creativity would flow, and other times where I just had to trust it would come back. That was so powerful.”
One of the book’s central messages is that connection itself is rongoā or medicine. Tracy sees this disconnection showing up not just in relationships, but in self-worth, mental wellbeing and even in how we work.
“When we’re disconnected from ourselves, we isolate, we doubt and we stop listening to that inner voice,” she says. “But connection brings us back to our potential, to each other and to the world.”
That inner voice is something Tracy urges us all to tune into more often. “We’re so in our heads,” she says. “But our gut knows. When we slow down and get out of our thoughts and into our body, we can hear what’s actually right for us.”
Tracy’s approach is steeped in kindness, reverence for nature and practical tools, but it’s never preachy. In fact, her warmth is part of what makes Hononga such a generous read. She shares rituals that are both grounded, accessible and part of her own daily routine, like starting the day with a hand on her heart and puku to set an intention, taking walks in nature and journaling to process emotions and gain clarity.
“Journalling is such a powerful tool,” she says. “When you write down what’s in your head, it stops swirling around and starts making sense. Awareness is always the first step to change.”
Through the pages of Hononga, readers meet a range of real-life clients who’ve worked with Tracy, from those recovering after toxic relationships to people rediscovering joy through ancestral reconnection. These stories show that transformation doesn’t come from fixing yourself, but from remembering who you really are.
Tracy herself felt that shift while writing the book. “I feel like I’m a better mother now,” she says, tearing up. “I’m more present, more grounded, more accepting of myself and others. I back myself more.”
Importantly, Hononga is also an invitation for non-Māori readers to respectfully engage with Māori worldviews. “You don’t have to be Māori to connect with the awa, the moana or the ngahere,” she says. “Indigenous cultures all over the world share the same values of connection, community, respect, love. I want readers to see the beauty in Māoritanga.”
So what does Tracy suggest for anyone feeling stuck or disconnected right now?
“Slow down,” she says simply. “Go outside, take a walk without headphones. Start getting comfortable with yourself. Let your emotions tell you what’s going on. Journal and just notice your patterns. That’s where change begins.”
There’s also a QR code in the book, which leads readers to guided visualisations, including one for self-awareness in everyday life. “It walks you through your day and helps you notice what you’re thinking, feeling and saying. How we talk to ourselves is huge and once you notice it, everything can shift.”
In the end, Hononga is a quiet revolution, one that starts from within. “The way we meet ourselves is how we meet others,” Tracy says. “If this book helps people be a little kinder to themselves, then they’ll naturally have more compassion for others, for the planet, for what people are going through. And that’s how we change things.”
