“The point of the book was never to talk about only myself, or my hurts, or accomplishments”, says author Sisonke Msimang, “this book is really about all South Africans and our search to find a place in this country.”

Sisonke is a South African writer whose work is focussed on race, gender and democracy. She has written for international publications including the New York Times, the Guardian, Newsweek and Al Jazeera. Her TEDTalk, If a Story Moves You, Act On it, which challenges society’s tendency to emphasize storytelling over facts and listening over action, has been watched over 1,250,000 times.

In her debut book, Always Another Country: a Memoir of Exile and Home, Sisonke writes about her childhood in Zambia and Kenya, young adulthood and college years in North America, and her return to her birth place after the fall of apartheid. She reflects upon her political awakening, her euphoria at returning to the new South Africa, and her eventual disillusionment with the new elites. “Every South African who wants to define their own path to the future must read this book and hear this voice,” say former ANC member and anti-apartheid leader Jay Naidoos. “Sisonke challenges us not to cry for help, but to scream for change.”

Appearing in: Home in Any Country: Non-Fiction

Website: www.sisonkemsimang.com
Book: www.worldeditions.org/all-books/book/always-another-country