"Tama Sāmoa" a couples passion project for the community

(TW: mention of mental health and suicide)

In 2020 “Teine Sāmoa” a book about cultural identity and discovery was published by Samoan Author Dahlia Malaeulu. The book received rave reviews and readers awaited a continuation of the story. This year the brother book to “Teine Samoa” called “Tama Samoa” was released by Dahlia and her husband Mani Malaeulu. Just like clock-work "Tama Samoa" repeated the cycle and recieved high praise.

We got to sit down with the writing duo and speak about their book:

What is the message behind Tama Sāmoa?

Mani: Tama Sāmoa holds so many messages for us. The male stereotypes, like having to ‘man up and get over it’ combined with other personal and cultural challenges we face places real pressure on the mental health and wellbeing of our tama Pasifika which I’ve seen and experienced first-hand. This is why we really wanted the messages of connection, talanoa and healing to shine through the book.

Dahlia: We also feel that the different parts of the book reflect and reinforce these messages, with Tama Sāmoa opening with the fictional story of four high school friends who share their life experiences, cultural challenges and personal crisis through a special letter writing ‘Dear Uso’ project. This is further highlighted in the second part of the book which includes real stories from Samoan students and educators who share their personal journeys, obstacles they’ve faced, their need to belong and the impact all of these have on their wellbeing.

What kind of response have you had to Tama Sāmoa?

Mani: We have had amazing feedback from Tama Sāmoa. From tama Pasifika emailing us their own ‘Dear Uso’ letters and the positive impact the book has helped them to reflect on their own journeys, to tearful messages from parents who have told us that the book has helped them to talanoa to their sons about what they are going through and seeking support. Then there are the different teachers and schools thanking us for creating a book that their students can use in class to study, while also helping staff better understand our tama Pasifika and what they go through.

Dahlia: Tama Sāmoa has joined its sister book, Teine Sāmoa, in libraries, schools and universities all across Australasia, which we are so grateful for because at Mila’s Books we create stories that help our tamaiti to be seen, heard and valued as Pasifika. So access to our stories is key. This is why we were so excited to learn that Tama Sāmoa had sold over 2000 copies worldwide within six months, which is a big deal in the book industry (where 500 books sold across six month is considered really good) and just shows the real need and hunger for our stories as Pasifika.

What was the publishing process like for you?

Dahlia: After writing Teine Sāmoa, I knew there was going to be a Tama Sāmoa. It is important for us at Mila’s Books to produce authentic stories by us and for us, so getting Mani to come on board took some convincing but it was the best thing. Especially with his experience as a personal development coach and facilitator which has led him to supporting so many tama and tagata Pasifika in High Schools, businesses and organisations over the years.

Mani: We brainstormed about the common issues and challenges we noticed that our tama Pasifika face. Once we had mapped out our plan for the book we got writing. It felt very natural. Luckily Dahlia’s not only an author and book publisher but her background is in teaching, so this helped me who had never written a book before. Once we were happy with the first draft, Dahlia then worked on the Tama Sāmoa Project while I supported with feedback on the contributor’s stories. The final step was Dahlia putting on her publisher hat to produce the stunning book we have today.

What feeling do you hope the reader walks away with after reading Tama Sāmoa?

Mani: I really want readers to embrace and support a new tama Sāmoa code where better connections are made with us as Pasifika, the power of real talanoa is normalised and used to help us heal and overcome anything we face.

Dahlia: I hope readers of Tama Sāmoa are able to reflect and develop the cultural confidence or understanding needed to better connect with and support our tamaiti as Pasifika.

What inspired you to pursue this type of storytelling?

Dahlia: I wrote and published Teine Sāmoa in 2020, so Tama Sāmoa is the brother book and follows the same format. Teine Sāmoa was the result of an article I wrote about my own cultural identity journey for e-Tangata which had a huge response and had connected with so many people around the world. I started writing in detail about my own experiences which centred around different characters, then these turned into chapters. Including the Teine Sāmoa Project was as a result of my experiences as a Pasifika educator and wanting to create a safe space for our tamaiti and educators to have a voice and share their amazing stories with the world. This provided an opportunity for greater reflection and learnings for all readers, Pasifika and non-Pasifika, families, teachers and schools.

Mani: Also with Tama Sāmoa, sadly Dahlia’s ex-students lost his life to suicide which she wrote another e-tangata article about. This definitely influenced the book and reinforced the importance of mental health and wellbeing which we wanted to safely include as part of the fictional story. So we wondered what it would be like to read the thoughts of our tama Sāmoa and then we combined this with our Personal and professional experiences with Pasifika students. This gave the fictional story a real personal tone to help the reader to connect with the book on this level. Something we believe has really helped readers to reflect on their own personal and cultural journeys of healing.

What tips would you give other authors following your path?

Dahlia: Remember your why and that we all have a story to tell. As Pasifika we were born storytellers and the world needs our stories more than ever. We need more Pasifika authors across all literary genres because as Pasifika only we can see the world we do, so we should be the ones to tell our stories. I used to teach my students to talk it out and then write it out. Then follow through and get it done. Sometimes you don’t know what you’re doing until its done, and that’s okay. Growth comes from our failures and mistakes, so just always take the learnings from the journey and keep it moving.

Mani: Just do it. Get your ideas or your story out of your head and on to paper. I never thought I would be an author but thankfully it was made easier with the support of my wife, which was mainly through some really good talanoa. I’ve realised on this journey that we can tell our stories our way as Pasifika and even then everyone tells their stories differently, which I think is great because then our tamaiti can be exposed to different types or writing and ideas.