Anna McMartin/The End is Naenae

Thoughts from an overthinker Today, e hoa mā, I’m going to tell you a light-hearted story. It began in January, when a business-strategist-writer guy got in touch with me. He’s running an interview project on insight, and a read...

I did an interview about insight, but the prep didn't go well.

"The thoughts just wouldn’t come. Was insight a topic I had no insight into? Seriously? Somewhere out there was Alanis Morissette laughing at me?"

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/thoughts-fro...

I’m a former teenage girl: mess with Wuthering Heights and you mess with me You think I’m reviewing the movie a week late – but I’m also reviewing the book 178 years late. No real spoilers, I promise. Teenagers feel stuff acutely, especially girls. I remember reading Wuther...

You think I’m reviewing the movie a week late – but I’m also reviewing the book 178 years late. No real spoilers, I promise.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/im-a-former-...

My pleasure! 🙂

WFH or WTF? Hot takes from 1993 We all need a bit of light relief right now. I found some today, and I'm going to share it with you. This morning, I drove from Upper Hutt to Lower Hutt for an appointment. Most of the destruction fr...

We all need a bit of light relief right now. I found some today, and I'm going to share it with you.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/wfh-or-wtf-h...

Thanks for the tautoko, friend!

Making his excuses for him Over the long weekend, I read 'No words for this' by Ali Mau. It was profound, and it's helping me process the world right now. Tricky themes lie ahead, so read with care. It's been a while since I w...

Over the long weekend, I read 'No words for this' by Ali Mau. It was profound, and it's helping me process the world right now. Tricky themes lie ahead, so read with care.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/making-his-e...

Run, Anna, run! Before I got sick I was reasonably fit, but never much of a runner. I liked the mental health benefits of getting outside, and so I’d plod a loop around Te Awa Kairangi, the Hutt river; but that was w...

Hang in there. It’s not linear. You simply can’t – until one day, all of a sudden, you kind of can. You wake up a slightly different person to the one who crawled exhausted into your bed the night before. When that happens, it feels like a small miracle.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/ru/

Thought for the day, 23 January 2026 We are bound to each other. This is not a popular thing to say, but it's true. The tradies who were passing and pulled up their truck, took out their tools, rushed to climb the mud and debris barefo...

We are, all of us, bound to each other.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/thought-for-...

Appreciate you reading. 🙂

The way we talk about men A warning that this post is about the tragedy at Waitārere Beach. I want to write with compassion for all involved, but also be loud and clear: it's time to stop promoting harmful ideas about violence...

A warning that this post is about the tragedy at Waitārere Beach. I want to write with compassion for all involved, but also be loud and clear: it's time to stop promoting harmful ideas about violence.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/the-way-we-t...

Banality Be aware this post talks about troubling current and historical events, so might not be timed right if you’re feeling fragile. Thank you to my lovely paid subscribers for your initial feedback. Somet...

As I watch the news demonstrators are taking to the streets. They're from all walks of life, all ages and races, but they have in common that they've had enough. They give me hope.

Hang onto the good humans around you, I reckon. It's all any of us can do.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/banality/?re...

❤️

Thanks for reading, e hoa!

Into the air This story was subject to reporting errors at the time, and speculation continues to this day. Where sources are in conflict, I've chosen the ones I've judged the most reliable. Be aware that some of ...

Mōrena, friends, and happy new year!

If you're looking to ease your way into 2026, here's something to read. I worked on it for eight days over Xmas so I'm going to foist it on everybody.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/into-the-air/

Into the air This story was subject to reporting errors at the time, and speculation continues to this day. Where sources are in conflict, I've chosen the ones I've judged the most reliable. Be aware that some of ...

Ending 2025 with a mystery story, known around the world, which my whānau is connected to. I was vaguely aware of it, and picked it up to learn more on Christmas Eve - by coincidence, fifty years to the day after the tragedy that set everything in motion.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/into-the-air/

To the old white dudes who got upset at my support for Te Tiriti, I'm so sorry. If I'd known you were going to give me the best Xmas present ever, I would've got you something in return.

Going back to school Please note this piece talks briefly about animal cruelty. It's the job of any generation to care for the ones that follow. My kids are big now, the younger having finished secondary a year ago, but...

I think there’s a whole other way Te Tiriti contributes to all our kids’ learning. We’re about to go on a meander through history to visit some interesting ideas I’ve discovered.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/going-back-t...

Is there anybody out there? Some people have a gift for technology, and I'm not one of them.

Have I fecked it up? There's only one way to find out.

the-end-is-naenae.ghost.io/is-there-any...

I'm ghosting Substack Kia ora friends!

I owe Substack, but I owe the next writer too. I had to choose - and in the end, the choice was easy. See you on the other side.

open.substack.com/pub/theendis...

Even though it is small it is precious This is for Malachi and children like him. I've changed some details so the people I talk about aren't identifiable. Be aware: the discussion of family violence isn't graphic but is still distressing.

I started this piece committed to being open to the evidence. I’ve tried to write about it avoiding emotive language. But here’s what I’ve concluded. Get this wrong and children could die.

open.substack.com/pub/theendis...

Having a mayor? Why we need our local leaders to take a stand It’s done and dusted.

People with a track record of behaving badly need to pay a career penalty. So long as people with track records get roles just to keep the peace, it will encourage them to wield the threat of chaos.

theendisnaenae.substack.com/p/having-a-m...

Thank you for reading!

Waste land What is not handed down must be found some other way; and so my mum, who is retired in Invercargill, spends her days uncovering our whakapapa from libraries and archives and genealogical sites.

This is a story unearthed by my mum. It's about a little girl, my great-great-grandmother, who found herself at the centre of a remarkable tragedy.

theendisnaenae.substack.com/p/waste-land...

Waste land What is not handed down must be found some other way; and so my mum, who is retired in Invercargill, spends her days uncovering our whakapapa from libraries and archives and genealogical sites.

This post is a bit different, involving more mahi than expected, and getting stuck halfway through and feeling sorry for myself. I'm forever grateful to my paid subscribers for the space and grace to have a go at the harder stuff. Ngā mihi, friends.

theendisnaenae.substack.com/p/waste-land...

I would love it if the US zeal for identifying the politics of shooters was matched by a zeal for stopping them.

Playing chess with a pigeon Content warning for harassment and misogyny. May cause existential despair.

I've had a pretty shocking 72 hours. You probably know the Wellington region is notorious for its dirty politics - and I just got a very personal taste. The time to take a stand is right now.

theendisnaenae.substack.com/p/playing-ch...

Who the **** is Rita Angus? I took art history for approximately three weeks in 1993, at the beginning of my seventh form year.

I took the gamut of 'useless' subjects, including three weeks of art history, so if you don't want to read my hot take I'll understand.

theendisnaenae.substack.com/p/who-the-is...

A letter When the tantalising details run out, the breathless headlines are exhausted and the camera turns away, kids could still be in danger. Now is the time to call for an inquiry. This cannot happen again.

When the tantalising details run out, the breathless headlines are exhausted and the camera turns away, kids could still be in danger. Now is the time to call for an inquiry. This cannot happen again.

theendisnaenae.substack.com/p/a-letter?r...

I self-identify as a battleaxe. 😂

Hey hey! I'm grey! It's a faffy, faffy thing, going au naturel.

"I almost can’t believe the brazen and nutty shit an inattentive world lets a middle-aged lady get away with."

theendisnaenae.substack.com/p/hey-hey-im...