Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawai’i

Set in one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes, Kuleana is the story of award-winning journalist Sara Kehaulani Goo’s family saga to hold on to her family’s ancestral Hawaiian lands--and find herself along the way.

Along the rugged shores of Maui’s east coast lies Hana, one of the last remaining stretches of Hawai’i untouched by hotels or billionaire retreats. The 60 acres of the author’s family lands, extending from mountain to sea, were given in 1848 by King Kamehameha III.

When a property tax bill arrives with a 500% increase, Goo and her family members are forced to make a decision about the property: they must fight to keep the land or do as so many other Hawaiian families have done and sell to the next Mainland millionaire.

From an early age, Goo was enchanted by the land, which includes a massive 16th century temple with a mysterious past. But as the financial crisis spurs her into action, she uncovers how much land her family already lost over generations -- and the larger story of displacement of Native Hawaiians.

The author transports readers through the dark colonial history of the islands and takes them along as she learns to hula and reconnect with her culture. Only then can she fulfill her ＂kuleana＂--a word meaning responsibility and stewardship, carried through the generations.

Part journalistic offering and part memoir, Kuleana interrogates deeper questions of identity and what we owe those who come before us and after us. Goo’s breathtaking story of unexpected homecomings, familial hardship, and fierce devotion to ancestry writes a new story about Hawai’i, its native people, and their struggle to hold onto their land and culture today.

Sara Kehaulani Goo is a journalist and senior news executive who has led several news organizations including Axios, NPR, and The Washington Post. She is the former editor-in-chief at Axios, where she launched the company’s editorial expansion into national and local newsletters, podcasts and live journalism. Before Axios, she led online audience growth as a managing editor at NPR, overseeing the newsroom’s digital news operation. Goo also served as news director at The Washington Post, where she also served as a business editor and reporter. Originally from Dana Point, California, she graduated from the University of Minnesota’s journalism school. She lives in Washington, D.C.