Vanessa Govender to launch her new memoir in Reservoir Hills and Chatsworth
The book, The Village Indian, is her second memoir but the first to dive into the colourful chaos of her mixed race family and adventures in a small South African village with chickens, curry and endless shenanigans.
The award-winning former television and radio news journalist, and the author of Beaten But Not Broken and the children's book The Selfish Shongololo, said she chose to focus on her family because they were the heartbeat of the story.
"The Village Indian is absolutely a journey of self, mine, my family's and I hope for the reader too. For me, moving to a far flung village after years as a city slicker journalist was like swapping stilettos for gumboots. I had to rediscover myself, who I am when the spotlights are off and the deadlines are gone, and the only breaking news is someone's cow has found its way into the garden.
"The Village Indian is about peeling back the layers of ambition, fear and even my obsession with clothes and cars to find joy, the unadulterated kind in the small and simple stuff."
She said the plot would resonate with readers because it was "universal".
"We are all on a quest to belong, to laugh and heal. Whether you are in a village, a city or a cul-de-sac, whether you are Indian, white, black or coloured, you will see yourself in the moments of doubt, the belly laughs and the quiet victories of owning your space and your story, however messy it may be. The Village Indian is for anyone who sometimes feels like they are fumbling through life but who still show up, with a smile and chutzpah."
At the event on Saturday, Govender will be in-conversation with academic and entrepreneur Kanthan Pillay, and the following day in-conversation with author and academic, Kiru Naidoo.
Both events start at 2pm.
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