Homebru Memoir

Anton Rupert is a legend of the 20th century. Here we have Rupert's story, as complete, I suspect, as we will ever have it. Not only the story of fanatical perseverance, but also of someone with exceptional vision… This book contains many revelations, essential to understanding Rupert, e.g. not only his clashes with Verwoerd, but also ongoing friction with the Nationalist government, the bitter battle with the Sanlam bosses and his quarrel with Louis Luyt.' - Danie Van Niekerk

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Die verstommende storie van ’n sakelegende wat een van Afrika se welvarendste maatskappye uit niks opgebou het. Wat was Anton Rupert se geheim? Sy sienings oor die skepping van werk en welvaart in ’n sukkelende ekonomie, is sy blywende nalatenskap met diepgaande lesse vir Suid-Afrika vandag. Sy storie is meer relevant as ooit. Hier vertel die gesoute sakeskrywer Ebbe Dommisse die volle verhaal, met kleur en anekdotes, in dié opgedateerde uitgawe van sy hoogaangeskrewe biografie van Rupert.

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‘This book kept me alive.’ Love and Fury is the compelling and intimate account of the life, loves and furies of Margie Orford. In this brave memoir, the renowned South African crime writer divulges some of the harrowing experiences that have shaped her life and influenced her writing. Through sexual assault, divorce, depression and personal loss, Orford illuminates the trauma she has navigated. Tender and courageous chapters vividly recall memories of what she has been through as a woman, mother, wife, feminist and ambitious writer. Love and Fury shows why trauma in our past can have such an enduring and debilitating effect on women’s lives. It also unpacks the healing power of love, creativity, courage and self-reflection, ultimately offering a profound message of hope and joy for any woman who has ever questioned themselves, their trauma and who they are in the world. This book is every woman’s love and fury.

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Portchie is een van Suid-Afrika se suksesvolste kunstenaars, maar wie is die man wat agter die skilderye skuil? En hoe en wanneer het Jan Hendrik Viljoen van die klein dorpie Tweeling in die Vrystaat aangemeld om die wêreldbekende kunstenaar Portchie te word? Hierdie memoir kombineer Portchie se inspirerende verhaal met foto’s, 60 skilderye, 12 beelde en selfs sy gunstelingresepte. Portchie se verhaal is een van hoop, van liefde en deernis, en van treffende eenvoud.

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In 2018, Alastair McAlpine, a palliative paediatrician in Cape Town, decided to share some inspiring thoughts from the children in his care. He posted: ‘I asked some of my terminal paediatric palliative care patients what they had enjoyed in life, and what gave it meaning. Kids can be so wise, y’know. Here are some of the responses.’ Their simple yet profound answers went viral, found their way into homes across the world and touched the hearts of millions. Yet it was never McAlpine’s plan to find himself in this position. Challenged from all sides by crippling addiction, a brutal internship and a deadly HIV pandemic, McAlpine’s journey was very nearly derailed. Prescription: Ice Cream is his engaging memoir about the highs and lows of working as a medical doctor in South Africa and how, with a little help from metal music and ice cream, he was able to struggle on, find meaning in the chaos and inspire others.

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The Near North is a vivid account of life in Johannesburg in times of crisis. From the stony ridges of Langermann Kop in Kensington to the tree-lined avenues of Houghton, we follow the writer through the city's streets, meeting its ghosts and journeying through time and (often circumscribed) space, finding meaning in the everyday and incidental.At once an echo of Ivan Vladislavić’s award-winning Portrait with Keys and an original work of intense acuity and quiet power, The Near North is both intimate and expansive, ranging from small domestic dramas to great public spectacles. Wryly playful at times, fiercely serious at others, it is certain to move and delight all who accompany the writer through its pages.

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The thrilling story of the conservationist who pioneered the use of dogs in combating poachers to protect wildlife in South Africa’s game reserves. Barely out of his teens, one of Conraad’s first brushes with the reality of life at the frontline of conservation was when he shot the leader of a poaching gang during an ambush in Windy Ridge game reserve. Much of Con’s work involving dogs is a continuous struggle against industrial-scale bushmeat poachers, who strangle game in snares, an even greater threat to wildlife than rhino horn poachers as the overburdened courts seem interested only in endangered species. He also works to catch poachers of critically endangered pangolins, the most trafficked animal in the world. Con decided to use his almost telepathic rapport with dogs to tackle the poaching crisis sweeping South Africa. His first anti-poaching dog, a Weimaraner named Zingela, became an inseparable companion. Zingela saved Conraad’s life on numerous occasions – once when Conraad was about to be assassinated by two fellow rangers hired by poachers. Con’s story is an epic of modern-day African wildlife conservation, spiced with adventure, courage and romance.

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Born in Qqeberha in the 1990s, popular Aids activist Nozibele Mayaba’s upbringing was one of struggle and strife. She was raised by the tough hand of her mother in the confines of a strict Christian household. Nozibele strove to be the “good girl” thateveryone adores to win her mother’s approval and the affection of her absent father. She lived by the book and was steered by her faith. Hers becomes a life of firsts. She is the first person in her family to travel overseas. The first to graduate from university. It is also her first love, with his infectious smile that infected her with HIV. This diagnosis throws her life into disarray. Fearing stigma and feeling the need to maintain her “good girl” image, she kept her status a secret. However, she soon succumbed to depression. It is in the aftermath, when she picks up the broken pieces of her life that she finds purpose in all the pain she has endured. She went public with her story in a video that when viral and launched her onto a new path. Nozibele, who has since gotten married and recently became a mother, has made it her mission to hold open conversations about her journey living withHIV. Told with gut wrenching honesty, Nozibele is at her mostvulnerable in this brave account about what it means to live andlove beyond HIV

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In this riveting memoir Sparg traces not only her experience in MK – often as the only woman in training camps in Angola – and her friendship with Chris Hani, Joe Slovo and Thabo Mbeki, but also her secret return to South Africa, the three police-station bombs, her sudden arrest and her years of imprisonment. Guilty and Proud is the gripping tale of a woman who defied stereotypes and, at great personal cost, stood up for her beliefs.

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