Medical Mysteries, YA Eco Mysteries, Memoirs & Novels
Memoirs
Apartheid Memoir Comes Full Circle
05/03/12 15:23
When my husband, Boris Datnow, moved our family—my two sons Allen and Steven and my daughter Robyn—to Birmingham to take a position at UAB Medical School, the first thought that popped into my head was: Why on Earth has a girl from Johannesburg, South Africa, ended up in Birmingham, Alabama? Read More...
South African Apartheid Memoir
26/01/12 16:43
Meeting Long-Lost Cousins in the Belgium Beer Garden
I’m sitting at a rough wooden picnic table at the Belgium Beer Garden in Melbourne, Australia, waiting to meet my two long-last third cousins that I have never meet, because of a family feud. They have come here to share more than a beer; it seems they have a bone to pick with me—a really big one. All around us young men in tank tops and cut off shorts, and young women in mini skirts and skimpy sundresses, are happily chugging down bottles of beer and laughing raucously. We old folks are chomping on succulent cheese “krantsky” sausages and sipping apple cider with a kick in it. Thank goodness my husband, Boris, my sister, Bea, and my brother-in-law, Mike, have bravely agreed to accompany me to this curious family reunion. Read More...
I’m sitting at a rough wooden picnic table at the Belgium Beer Garden in Melbourne, Australia, waiting to meet my two long-last third cousins that I have never meet, because of a family feud. They have come here to share more than a beer; it seems they have a bone to pick with me—a really big one. All around us young men in tank tops and cut off shorts, and young women in mini skirts and skimpy sundresses, are happily chugging down bottles of beer and laughing raucously. We old folks are chomping on succulent cheese “krantsky” sausages and sipping apple cider with a kick in it. Thank goodness my husband, Boris, my sister, Bea, and my brother-in-law, Mike, have bravely agreed to accompany me to this curious family reunion. Read More...
South African Memoir
15/08/11 17:18
Connections to other times and places
Publishing a book is like placing a message inside a bottle and tossing it into the ocean; you never know what or whom the book may encounter on its journey. I feel fortunate to have connected with interesting people through my book, Behind The Walled Garden of Apartheid, and, of course, the converse is true; the books I read vicariously connect me with fascinating people, places and ideas. Read More...
Publishing a book is like placing a message inside a bottle and tossing it into the ocean; you never know what or whom the book may encounter on its journey. I feel fortunate to have connected with interesting people through my book, Behind The Walled Garden of Apartheid, and, of course, the converse is true; the books I read vicariously connect me with fascinating people, places and ideas. Read More...
Nelson Mandela Day and South African Apartheid Memoir
21/07/11 16:23
We were delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate Mandela Day with exchange students from Johannesburg, South Africa at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Read More...
South African Memoir Comes Full Circle
15/07/11 12:21
What happened 39 years ago and 8,512 miles away came full circle yesterday, July 13, 2011. You see, I left Johannesburg, South Africa and found myself in Birmingham, Alabama—all those years and many, many miles away. Read More...
Reading Guide Apartheid Memoir
11/07/11 14:43
This reading guide to Behind the Walled Garden of Apartheid: Growing Up White in Segregated South Africa can be printed and shared with book groups as a springboard to sparking thoughtful discussions.
Does your book group find reading guides a useful tool for sparking thoughtful and lively discussions? Do you as a book lover, looking for something new to read and discuss, find reading guides useful?
Let me know what you think and, if you use the reading guide, what question(s) inspired the liveliest conversation. Email to: cldatnow@me.com
Read More...
Does your book group find reading guides a useful tool for sparking thoughtful and lively discussions? Do you as a book lover, looking for something new to read and discuss, find reading guides useful?
Let me know what you think and, if you use the reading guide, what question(s) inspired the liveliest conversation. Email to: cldatnow@me.com
Read More...
Helen Suzman: Fighter for Human Rights
29/06/11 13:34
Helen Suzman’s memoir, In No Uncertain Terms, recalls her courageous 36 years in South Africa's parliament in readable and meticulous detail. The preface by Nelson Mandela shows the respect many people have for Suzman. Those with little background in the history of apartheid will gain an understanding the complexity of society in during Suzman’s political career. Read More...
African Memoir
08/04/11 15:47
I received an interesting letter about African memoirs. Part of the letter reads:
“Do you happen to know other memoirs written by black Africans? I’d so like to read stories from their perspective.”
Also see my Amazon List for African Memoirs
“Do you happen to know other memoirs written by black Africans? I’d so like to read stories from their perspective.”
Also see my Amazon List for African Memoirs
African Authors
04/04/11 12:00
I received this interesting letter. Any suggestions for adding memoirs to my link are welcome. (e-mail cldatnow@me.com) Read More...
Memoir Apartheid South Africa
18/02/11 08:48
Growing Up White in Segregated South Africa Read More...
Apartheid Memoir
30/01/11 13:42
Having just published my memoir, Behind the Walled Garden of Apartheid: Growing Up White In Segregated South Africa, I am delighted that Have You Heard from Johannesburg, a seven-part documentary about the decades-long fight to dismantle that cruel regime, is showing at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Apartheid in South Africa ended with the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994, now after almost two decades it is critical to document the history of that era from the viewpoint of those who lived through it, before it is lost. More info and times showing visit Birmingham Civil Rights Institute