Book Title:
Ruby’s World
Author: Karen
Baldwin
Genre: Non-Fiction
Synopsis:
Karen Baldwin's masterful memoir reads like a suspense thriller as this
resolute American woman of "a certain age" journeys alone to South
Africa to teach Zulu children. There she encounters a stunning resistance to
change from those who invited her. Baldwin's writing is candid, taut and
relentless, as waves of cultural tension build to an unforeseen crisis that
tests her courage and strength. -Phaedra Greenwood, Award Winning Journalist
Karen Baldwin, through raw, honest, and vibrant writing, shares her journey to
teach children in South Africa. Her good intentions are met by strong
traditions and a real Africa-not an illusion or romanticized world-where
nothing is wasted and there is little personal space. Baldwin's journey reveals
the similarities in Zulu and American families' joys, pain, deception and love.
-Dr. Andrea M. Heckman, PhD, Cultural Anthropologist, University of New Mexico
An extraordinary story, beautifully told. Baldwin's account of her adventure in
Africa is honest, moving, frequently funny, sometimes startling, and always
compelling. This is a journey of faith, and it carries the reader along every
twist and turn in that journey with remarkable clarity and grace. -Sean Murphy,
Author, The Time of New Weather
Note: I am sorry this is posted a little later than I wanted to post. When I truly enjoy a book, I find that I read slower rather than faster!
What can you say about a memoir that touches you so deeply that you can't stop thinking about it? Such is this memoir by Karen Baldwin. Before reading this book, I knew very little about modern-day South Africa. I used to work with a teacher who came out of the apartheid, but of course, that is all in the past, right? I invite you to read the book to find out!
Kudos to the author for capturing the Zulu people and their culture so well. I kept saying that she had to take copious notes in order to share so much detail. I have been on a missions trip to the country of Yemen, but I was in a "Western compound" so culture shock was no big deal. I was horrified and mesmerized as I read this book that is raw with emotion and real life.
I will warn you. There are adult topics and some profanity (but not much). There are religious issues that will probably shock you and may even offend you. But you cannot get away from this fact--it is real. If you want to know how things really are in South Africa (or at least how they were back in 2008--I honestly doubt it has changed much)from an outsider's eyewitness viewpoint, this is the book for you.
As another side note, I have to say that reading this book when I did was perfect timing. I completed it the day after the 2012 presidential election was decided. I can't tell you how often I found myself so grateful to be an American. We may not have a perfect country, but we have worked on our democracy for over 200 years, and I wouldn't wish to build my life anywhere else!
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated in any way, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.
Some
other info:
The author and global volunteer
Karen Baldwin recently was appointed the Ambassador for the Rural Women’s
Movement of South Africa working to obtain basic human rights for the women and
children of South Africa. She’ll be speaking to the United Nations
Commission hearings on the Status of Women with Sizani Ngubane, the
executive director and founder of RWM early next year. Karen was recently
interviewed by NBC affiliate, KOB in Albuquerque, NM. Airing September 18 -
Link: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2767979.shtml?cat=11121
Before NM, Karen was in San Francisco on
a book tour and was on the CBS Affiliate Bay Sunday: http://youtu.be/nQI3bflfaNY
Karen is a breast cancer and heart attack
survivor (October Breast Cancer Awareness Month). These are the two deadliest
killers of women. Karen took her surviving as a sign to help women and children
prompting her trip to Africa. Her story is inspirational. We have video of her time
in Africa with the children and traditions of the Zulu that we can include as
links on the blog post.
Author’s
Encounter with Secretive Zulu Traditions –
When Dreams Turn into Nightmares
What started as a dream and a spiritual calling for Karen Baldwin,
quickly turned into a nightmare in the Zulu region of South Africa as the
obscure traditions of the Zulu tribal chiefs and witch doctors threatened her
survival and prompted her expulsion from the dark continent of Africa. Ruby’s
World, My Journey with the Zulu tells that story. Baldwin says, “I didn’t choose Africa. Africa chose me,”
says Baldwin, author of Ruby’s World, My Journey with the Zulu. “It was an experience that changed my
life.”
We would love for you to join with either
a Book Review, a Author Q&A or a article for your blog. You would receive a
copy of the book (eBook or hard copy).
About:
Ruby’s World: My Journey
with the Zulu
Breast cancer and heart attack survivor Karen Baldwin searched for a
way to give back targeting women and children. What began as a humanitarian
quest ended suddenly with a hair-raising escape for her life. What started as a
dream and a spiritual calling for Baldwin, quickly turned into a nightmare in
the Zulu region of South Africa as the obscure traditions of the Zulu tribal
chiefs and witch doctors threatened her survival and prompted her expulsion
from the dark continent of Africa.
Now Baldwin’s good intentions continue to
move her forward. She has written a book about her journey with the Zulu and
altered the course of her life to continue to find ways to help the Zulu women
and children working with the non-profit Rural Women’s Movement of South
Africa.
Readers of
Ruby’s World – My Journey with the Zulu demanded answers!
In Unlocking
the Dream, Karen Baldwin shares her intimate dream of a one-breasted
heroine that drives her through an intense journey of healing and
self-determination. Dreams nurture and guide our souls’ contracts. Join Karen
Baldwin’s compelling adventure and decide for yourself: Has she unlocked the
key elements of her dreams, or is she still on the journey?
News Release:
New Mexico Author Karen
Baldwin Named Ambassador
For Rural Women’s Movement
of South Africa
Karen Baldwin, author of Ruby’s World – My Journey with the Zulu,
believes in global volunteerism.
Now she helps bring
awareness of non-profit efforts toward equality for African women.
A prominent New Mexico author becomes the
first Ambassador for the Rural Women’s Movement of South Africa. Founder and Executive Director for the Rural Women’s Movement
of South Africa, Sizani Ngubane, chose author Karen Baldwin as the first Ambassador to
the U.S. representing the non-profit because of Baldwin’s passion to help the
women and children. Ngubane is known as an indefatigable campaigner for women’s
and children’s human rights in South Africa. She sits on the UN Commission on
the Status of Women and has addressedthe UN regarding the UN Millennium Development Goals. Joining Ngubane in
that fight, Baldwin, whose book is a memoir of her journey to rural South
Africa teaching children English, wants to make a difference. Baldwin also will
attend the UN Commission on the Status of Women hearing in the Spring 2013 and
together with Ngubane will present a workshop on RMW’s work.
Baldwin knows firsthand the struggles women face in South Africa.
She witnessed many of the issues Ngubane battles on a daily basis. There is the
imbalance of power for women. If a woman is not married, she holds no rights to
property, a job, or freedom.
“I was searching for purpose after surviving a heart attack and
breast cancer,” says 57-year-old Karen Baldwin. “I was invited to be the first
white teacher in a rural Zulu elementary school. Naïve, I set off from San
Francisco alone for South Africa,” Baldwin explains. “At first I was welcomed
in my efforts, but then threatened with my life because, in part, I stood
against the cruelty that Ngubane is working to end. Since returning home from
South Africa, I have been searching for a non-profit to give my support.”
About
RWM
The Rural Women’s Movement of
KwaZulu-Natal was chosen as a finalist in the 2010 Drivers of Change awards by the
Southern Africa Trust. The criteria in the annual competition is that entrants
must demonstrate their commitment to sustained development within communities
to ensure a better future for all South Africans.
Nearly 70 years ago, an elderly South
African man dictated his will to his youngest child, informing her that she
would equally share in the division of his property. That little girl grew up
to become the mother of Sizani Ngubane of the Rural Women’s Movement in
KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Today, Ms. Ngubane works to educate women
with HIV/AIDS of their inheritance rights in a country where women are being
disenfranchised because of the illness.
RWM serves over 50,000 women and 2,000
orphans in rural South Africa. They are part of a 21 organization alliance that
works toward preserving constitutional rights for rural citizens.
Their primary focus is to advocate for
women's independent land housing, inheritance, and property rights. They also
provide training and strategic assistance for the HIV/AIDS crisis.
A Spoonful of Sugar: A Nanny's Story by Brenda Ashford
