[1][2] After fighting depression and low self-esteem in her teen years, she began writing in her early 20s.
Her first short story was published in the Samoa Observer in 2008, with the support of editor Savea Sano Malifa.
[4] Bennett-Tuionetoa has received the most recognition for her short story "Matalasi," meaning "varied" or "many-fold" in Samoan.
[6] The story deals with the experiences of a fa'afatama, a third gender person in Samoan culture who was assigned female at birth but possesses both masculine and feminine traits.
[7] In 2017, "Matalasi" won in the Samoan category for the Samoa Observer Tusitala Story Competition.