A Canoe Before the Wind

An extraordinary memoir of an immigrant son's story of a better future

In 1962, a Samoan family journeyed to New Zealand — a country immigrants once called 'the land of milk and honey' — in search of a better life. Instead, their eldest son, Vitale, arrived in an era of dawn raids by police and immigration officials, and endless racism and bullying at school.

Yet he endured and, against the odds, grew up to become one of a select few civilians to pass New Zealand's elite SAS selection process. After seven years in the army, Vitale scaled impressive heights to become tactical commander of the police special tactics group, commander of the armed offenders squad, head of dignitary and witness protection, and one of New Zealand's most decorated policemen.

From high-profile hostage situations to overcoming a career-ending stroke, Soifua Vitale Joseph Fatutoa Lafaele's story is an inspiring one, of overcoming difficulty with values to guide you through life's challenges — ua se va?a tu matagi, like a canoe before the wind.