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Sustainable Baby
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Holding Up the Sky Click to enlarge
Holding Up the Sky
By Sandy Blackburn-Wright
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Holding Up the Sky

By (author) Sandy Blackburn-WrightSee other recent books by Sandy Blackburn-Wright

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2 star rating (from 1 customer reviews)

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Description
This astonishing autobiographical work is the story of a young Australian woman's complex love affair with Africa and its people. Sandy Blackburn-Wright lived and worked in South Africa between 1988 and 2003 - years coinciding with some of the nation's most tumultuous and significant events, including the release of Nelson Mandela. As a social worker in the townships she witnessed the brutality of life under the apartheid regime; at the same time she was bewitched by the uncrushable spirit of the people; the richness of the culture; the beauty of the land. Through her work she met her husband Teboho, and began the next phase of her life as part of an extended and welcoming traditional, rural black South African family.

ISBN: 9781921208232
Classification: Autobiography: general , Social work
Format: Paperback (230mm x 170mm x mm)
Pages: 520
Publish Date: 1-Mar-2008
Country of Publication: Australia

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2 star rating by Boomert - Holding Up the Sky: An African Life by Sandy Blackburn-Wright 12 Jan 2010
Holding up the Sky: An African Life (Sandy Blackburn-Wright, Pier 9, $34.95 pb, ISBN 9781921208232, March) ** 1/2

South Africa was a tumultuous place at the end of apartheid. As a community aid worker in the townships, Sydneysider Sandy Blackburn-Wright was uniquely placed to observe the effects and after effects of apartheid and its demise. For 11 years, her role provided the opportunity to educate and help the people recover and rebuild, but also to witness the racism and the injustice that remained after the end of apartheid. Holding up the Sky is her account. At times the book feels more like a rewrite of her diary and this tends to disengage the reader, as though reading a journal, not an autobiography. Also, while Blackburn-Wright’s descriptions of her personal relationships and involvement in positive aspects of life are somewhat uplifting, the regular mentions of death and destruction (which admittedly were a major part of life there) make it a challenging read. As such, it is difficult to attach to the characters aside from the author herself. The personal aspects of her tale are a welcome distraction from the more confronting issues that she faced. If you have an interest in stories about African life, race relations and overcoming adversity, you may enjoy this book, but it is not an easy or a comfortable read.

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Author Biography: Sandy Blackburn-Wright
Sandy Blackburn-Wright was born in rural New South Wales and grew up in the northern suburbs of Sydney. In 1988 she left for South Africa, only fifteen years later returning to Australia where she now lives with her family. Sandy currently works in human resources.

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