Steve Biko was a young South African and anti-apartheid activist who was murdered in 1977 by an all-white police force for his views against apartheid. His life and his friendship with white newspaper editor Donald Woods was the subject of “Cry Freedom,” a book later turned into a movie by the same name starring Denzel Washington and Kevin Kline.
After reading about Biko’s life, felt Ray driven to visit South Africa, pay homage to Biko and witness the living conditions of black South Africans. Fifteen years later after working three jobs at a time, Ray was able to save the money needed for the trip. In 2004 she flew to the continent of Africa.
As the author travels through South Africa in her attempt to learn about the country and its inhabitants, the reader is taken along for the ride. The nation’s beauty and its people are described in detail and accompanied with a large number of photographs.
If there is any doubt in the reader’s mind about the strength of the tie that develops between Africa and the author, it is erased as the final chapters describe her return with her fiancé, Glenn Ray, their marriage in Zimbabwe and honeymoon trip in South Africa. For those who might not recognize the name, Glenn is the manager of the Okie’s Sentry grocery store in Naselle.