She was convinced by her partner to sell her house and move with him to Tākaka, in the South Island, which cost her mother her well-paying job and isolated her from her friends.

During the three years that they lived there, Tui remembers her mother working long hours in part-time jobs to support the family while being subjected to continuous domestic violence.

Tui decided she was unable to return to the abusive environment on Canvastown and told her mother she was going to live permanently in Wellington with her father.

[13] Her mother briefly left her abuser and joined her daughter in Wellington, where she assisted in enrolling Tui in Year 8 at Evans Bay Intermediate before being drawn back to Canvastown.

A year later, Marion (who was still with her abusive partner) convinced Tui, who was concerned about the safety of her little brother, to return with her in exchange for a promise to let her daughter attend school in Greymouth.

[13] With the assistance of Women's Refuge, she was able to get a restraining order issued against her partner and finally break free, allowing Tui to enjoy a stable home environment.

[13] In high school, Tui played football, hockey, netball, rugby, and squash, as well as competing in athletic events and speech competitions.

[15] In 2010, with thoughts of being a journalist, Tui moved at the age of 18 to Christchurch, where she commenced studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Canterbury, which she completed in 2012.

Once in Christchurch, she kept up her involvement in netball but found it tough going due to the expense, transport difficulties, and lack of her old Greymouth friends to provide emotional support.

[15] In March 2010, Tui was living in the university halls of residence when she was invited by a friend she had made to come down and join in a casual game of rugby being played on the adjacent sports field.

She began playing on the wing for their women's fifteen-a-side team, coached by Ernie Goodhue, which competed in the local club competition.

[17] Following the completion of the club rugby season, the absence of Canterbury's Black Ferns overseas gave Tui the opportunity she needed, and she was selected to play at centre for the province.

Tui, however, found it hard to make the starting team due to the province's Black Ferns having returned from the previous year's World Cup.

In addition, with the support of Goodhue, she was able to secure an invitation in 2011 to play for the unofficial Canterbury-based KUSA (Kiwi/USA) Superclub Sevens team that was coached by Mere Baker.

[22] After receiving a pamphlet on the programme in March 2012, which stated that potentially 14 contracts would be available, Tui decided to register for what was termed the "Sevens Academy" and attended the Canterbury open trial being held at Burnham in early 2012.

[24] In January 2013, at the age of 21, she was appointed captain of the Canterbury team that competed in that year's New Zealand National Rugby Sevens Women's Tournament.

Canterbury made the final four, and her performance led to Tui being invited to several Black Ferns Sevens training camps and then being selected for the team for the Guangzhou tournament held in March 2013.

Once there, she remained out of the starting lineup, and it was not until she was substituted on for an injured Honey Hireme in the final against England that she debuted and went on to score a try, contributing to her team's 19–5 win.

[38] In the immediate aftermath of the failure to win gold and disillusioned with the culture, the way they were being coached, and the impact the travelling was having on her personal relationship, Tui felt that she could not commit to another four years until the next Olympics and needed to leave the team.

[39] Following his appointment as head coach, Allan Bunting organised Kelly Brazier, Kayla McAlister, Sarah Hirini, Niall Williams, Tyla Nathan-Wong, Ruby Tui, and Portia Woodman into a leadership group.

After discussing it with Allan Bunting, who wanted her to stay and become more involved in the team's leadership, she decided, unlike some of the other sevens players, not to reply to the enquiry.

[42] Her condition worsened overnight with severe pain, vomiting, and loss of vision that prevented her from finding her cellphone and left her too weak to reach the door to get help.

Tui was rushed to the hospital and given an emergency lumbar puncture to release excess body fluid in her spine and brain caused by a viral infection.

With six days still to go until the competition commenced, Tui was convinced that she could play, and despite having lost 10 kg in weight and feeling nauseous when she heard coach Allan Bunting was coming to see her, she pulled out her IV drips and arranged to meet him in the hospital's café.

Tui was selected for the Black Ferns squad that participated in the 2022 Pacific Four Series, during which she made her international debut on the wing against Australia at Tauranga on 6 June.

[67][68] She made her debut with a try in the game against Wales; it was one of the three matches of the tournament in which she participated, the other two being against France in the semi-final (in which she scored a try)[69] and England in the final, which was won by the Black Ferns.

On 30 April 2023, Tui announced that she turned down enquiries from various overseas organisations to sign a two-year contract with the New Zealand Rugby Union.

[80][81] Tui started writing articles about women's rugby club in local Christchurch newspapers[47] while studying for a media degree at the University of Canterbury.

With the help of Melodie Robinson and Scotty Stevenson, she was able to obtain occasional assignments, commentating alongside Ken Laban on a Black Fern game.

[91] The book was written in conjunction with professional writer Margie Thomson and came about after Tui was approached by Jenny Hellen at publisher Allen & Unwin New Zealand.