Tag: memoir

Qualified Disappointment is a candid and humorous memoir about identity, family and the expectations that shape our lives. The author transforms personal experiences into sharp comedy while exploring the complexities of growing up queer and brown in a conservative South African Indian household.

In this captivating collection of essays, Professor Tinyiko Maluleke invites readers on a journey. The journey begins with his eventful boyhood in Soweto. It continues through his life-changing upbringing in Limpopo. His heartfelt reflections on mothers, grandmothers and aunts stand at the centre of his story. He also explores their roles in his childhood and in the upbringing of his peers. In doing so, he highlights how these women shaped heroes and heroines across communities.

When the body breaks and the mind spirals, this is what it takes to fight your way back. Born with a congenital aortic valve defect, Brandon Fairweather was always destined for open-heart surgery. However, he never expected to need it at just 28 years of age. He shares his encounters with gripping spells of physiological and medical-related anxiety throughout his journey to, and beyond, the life-changing surgery.

Lidia Rauch was born at the crossroads of South Africa’s past and present. She is the granddaughter of one of apartheid’s longest-serving ministers, Fanie Botha. She grew up in a world built for her comfort, yet she chose to reckon with its cost. Her story moves between privilege and pain, from a childhood marked by fracture to a career inside the machinery of government.

On 16 June 1976, thousands of Black South African school children took to the streets of Soweto. They protested the introduction of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction under apartheid education. Police met the protests with brutal force. Many children never returned home. This day is now remembered as the start of the Soweto Uprising. It also echoed through 6001, the Orlando East home of Lebo Diseko’s family.

Unleashed: A Vet's Memoir of Heartache, Hairballs and Hope delivers a vivid, candid look at veterinary life. Caitlin Venniker writes with sharp humour and emotional clarity. The memoir traces her journey from Onderstepoort into private practice. It also follows her experiences in the United Kingdom and the Middle East. Unleashed is the hilarious, intensely honest memoir of Caitlin Venniker’s journey.

Dogtag Memories is a raw, darkly humorous memoir that follows one conscript’s chaotic journey through South Africa’s military machine during the border war. Drafted into the Defence Force in 1977 as a carefree seventeen-year-old, Jon Goetzsche saw his tranquil schooldays abruptly replaced by the brutal regimentation of army life. What began as naïve indifference soon spiralled into a struggle against authority, misfortune and the absurdities of war.

Falling Forward is a story of reclaiming identity, voice and power. In this deeply personal memoir, released alongside her documentary, Rachel Kolisi takes readers beyond the public image. She moves into the private moments that shaped her life. Falling Forward reveals the experiences that defined her path with honesty and courage.

From Daveyton to Davos, Professor Bonang Francis Mohale has defied the odds. He challenged the status quo and used every opportunity to shape his own path. More than that, he chose to take as many people as possible along with him. After writing two books on business, leadership and ethics, he now turns inward.

China Through My Eyes is not just a travel memoir. It is a powerful lens into the transformative journey of a young African through one of the world’s most complex and misunderstood nations. In his bold debut, the author takes readers from the Cape Flats of Cape Town to the vibrant cities of China.