My Zimbabwean Odyssey - Paperback

by Sheila V. Hartwell (Author)

My book tells of my return to my beloved homeland, Zimbabwe, some fifteen years after my last visit. Before arriving, I am forewarned that I will weep at the state of the country, and I share with the reader my shock and sadness at what I find-a nation once considered the breadbasket of Africa is now reduced to a basket case. I return, too, to the Harare Children's Home where I grew up, and as I am shown around, I am transported back to the early sixties, taking the reader with me as I share memories-good, bad, and amusing-of a place that I shall forever be grateful to and that will always have a very special place in my heart.

Author Biography

Although I now live in the UK, I was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, in 1952. At the age of eight I was taken into care and spent the next nine years in what was then The Rhodesia Children's Home. A rebel at heart, the Home never gave up on me, turning my world around with their kindness and support. Recognising my flair for art I was encouraged to pursue my talent, taking weekly lessons at the Salisbury School of Art. Seeing potential, too, in my typewriting skills, when I left school at the age of 17 the Home paid for me to attend the Salisbury Polytechnic where I gained a diploma in secretarial skills, ensuring I was well equipped for my journey into what I then considered 'the big, scary outside world'.