The poetic visions of Mettle echo through past and present as Anne-Marie Te Whiu draws on stories from a lifetime of listening and learning about her whakapapa (Māori lineage). This exceptional collection resounds with strength – a mettle that ripples through Te Whiu’s own life and that of her ancestral family. Her graceful poems are a lens through which to look ‘now’ straight in the face, without shame or fear, and to acknowledge that while trauma is transmitted generationally, so too are the gifts of resilience and fortitude.