A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir

“I looked down at the timer on my phone.

25 seconds, 23 seconds, 21.

I was days away from learning if I would run a country, and now, as I sat in a bathroom in Tawa, New Zealand, I was seconds away from learning if I would do it while having a baby.

I closed my eyes and lifted my head to the ceiling. Then I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, and looked down.”

Drawing parallels between the results of the election and the results of her pregnancy test, Ardern shows how intertwined Duty and Moral Responsibility in Private Life and Public Office are for her. The short sentences and the inclusion of a countdown (both in the literal seconds until the test results are available and in the implied countdown of days until the election results are tabulated) build tension. This heightened atmosphere reflects Ardern’s overwhelming sense of anticipation in a climactic moment of the narrative. The Prologue ends on a dramatic cliffhanger, encouraging readers to continue to the main body of the book.

“In the next photo, Dad’s soaked, clearly still recovering after the shock of one of his many plunges. Around him, people are laughing. My mother is not in the frame, but I know she was right there, just out of view of the camera, smiling at Dad, with a dry towel and spare set of clothes.”

The photograph that Ardern describes in this quote (of her father volunteering for the dunk tank at a community event) is among the other significant photos in an insert later in the book. The detailed description ensures that the image is familiar and recognizable to readers, contextualizing it and ensuring its effectiveness as a record and representation of this period in Ardern’s life. This scene represents her parents’ respective characters and roles in the family and community. Her father willingly puts himself in uncomfortable situations to do his work effectively and compassionately, building bonds with the people around him and integrating into the community.