Hilariously funny and in many cases unbelievably believable.

From a kid with a chemical laboratory in his bedroom where Peter would operate on frogs, to the hilarious experiences of a hospital Houseman, and the first few years of general practice. Also included are stories of a patient set alight in her bed, being trapped in the toilet with a patient and a colleague being defibrillated! It’s a story of childhood dreams to medical practice tribulations!

Peter Desmarais graduated M.B, Ch.B at the University of Pretoria South Africa in 1971. He relates the funny side of his experiences at medical school, his internship at Addington hospital Durban and the first few years of his life as a general practitioner.

Klein dorpies is elkeen uniek met sy eie karakter en dinge.

Vanweë die klein gemeenskappe word mense in dieselfde smeltkroes gegooi; hetsy na gelang van kulturele afkoms of ras, verskillende godsdienste of oortuigings. Om te oorleef moes hulle die lewe se uitdagings so goed moontlik saam met mekaar aanpak, en so ontwikkel ’n algemene soort kultuur deur die jare heen; baie prakties, sonder onnodige nonsies en met baie humor.

Plattelandsemense aarsel nie om dinge te sê soos dit is nie; dikwels in plat taalgebruik wat vir ander miskien stuitig mag wees of selfs aanstoot sal gee. Die skrywer is ’n gebore en getoë “boytjie” van die platteland wat nie kan verhelp om met sy tong in die kies te skryf en te skets nie.

ʼn Groot knippie sout is gewis nodig. Lag of huil gerus lekker saam!

A retired judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal and an ordained, nonstipendiary minister in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Nigel Willis is an assistant priest at St George’s Church, Parktown, Johannesburg.

This anthology of the sermons of Nigel Willis has been published to mark and celebrate the 120th anniversary of the founding of St George’s Church in October 2024. It is also the tenth anniversary of Nigel preaching from the pulpit.

The book is an anthology of Nigel’s sermons, delivered over this period, following the liturgical calendar of the church according to the readings set out in the lectionary.

Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us is a groundbreaking series of books which introduces you to the powerful stories of South African women who have all made their mark and cleared a path for women and girls. These books recognise, acknowledge and honour our heroines and elders from the past and the present. South African women are silent no more on the roles that we have played in advancing our lives as artists, storytellers, writers, politicians and educationists. The title 'Imbokodo' was been chosen as it is a Zulu word that means "rock" and is often used in the saying 'Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo!', which means "You Strike a Women, You Strike a Rock!" These books were made possible with the support of Biblionef and funding from the National Arts Council. In 10 Curious Inventors, Healers & Creators you will read about the women who shape our world through education, science and maths. You will read about women who became teachers, nurses, social workers, scientists and community workers, overcame obstacles and through their work fought for social change.

Die skrywer se eerste boek, Vandag se sekretaresse (Human & Rousseau, 1988), was gebaseer op ontelbare kantore, kollegas en werkgewers waarmee sy tydens 'n elektroniese revolusie te doen gekry het. Daar was wêreldwye bekommernis oor of die sekretaresse met moderne kantoortoerusting vervang sou kon word. Nou is daar weer wêreldwye onsekerheid tydens 'n pandemie waar vetsug lewensgevaarlik is. My laaste dieet is die memoires van 'n smullende skaalslaaf. Ná 'n lewenslange stryd en ervaring van vraatsug, gepaard met kennis en ondervinding van 'n magdom diëte, beskou die skrywer haarself as die Koningin van Diëte.

This ethnography explores the Ngoma healing tradition as practiced in eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. 'Bungoma' is an active philosophical system and healing practice consisting of multiple strands, based on the notion that humans are intrinsically exposed to each other and that this is the cause of illness, but also the condition for the possibility of healing. This healing seeks to protect the 'exposed being' from harm through augmenting the self. Unlike Western medicine, it does not seek to cure physical ailments but aims to prevent suffering by allowing patients to transform their personal narratives of Self. Like Western medicine, it is empirical and is presented as a 'local knowledge' that amounts to a practical anthropology of human conflict and the environment. The book seeks to bring this anthropology and its therapeutic applications into relation with global academic anthropology by explaining it through political, economic, interpretive, and environmental lenses

Begin ’n nuwe lewe van sukses.

Hierin kan jy leer watter stappe jy moet neem om ’n nuwe lewe van sukses te begin, leer hoe om jou mislukkings tot jou voordeel te gebruik en leer hoe om positiewe denke te hê.

"My struggles with mental illness were in some ways like a child crying out for attention; more than that they were a cry for help from the mind I felt trapped in. There was a darkness in me that many times swallowed me whole."

This is how Keamogetswe Bopalamo introduces her account of her troubled early life. It is an intensely personal account, and yet it speaks to a reality much broader than itself. In the exciting whirl of South Africa’s post-apartheid society, there is this darker side: the confusions, the fears, the rebellions, the degradations and emotional pain.

How does a young black girl cope when her parents are taken away as political detainees, or when she is repeatedly expelled from schools and hostels, or when she ends up in a mental institution after trying once again to end her own life? What I Wore offers startling answers.

For the first time, the 92-metre frieze of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, one of the largest historical narratives in marble, has been made the subject of a book.

The pictorial narrative of the Boer pioneers who conquered South Africa’s interior during the ‘Great Trek’ (1835-1852) represents a crucial period of South Africa’s past. Forming the concept of the frieze both reflected on and contributed to the country’s socio-political debates in the 1930s and 1940s when it was made. The frieze is unique in that it provides rare evidence of the complex processes followed in creating a major monument.

Based on unpublished documents, drawings and models, these processes are unfolded step by step, from the earliest discussions of the purpose and content of the frieze through all the stages of its design to its shipping to post-war Italy to be copied into marble and final installation in the Monument. The book examines how visual representation transforms historical memory in what it chooses to recount, and the forms in which it depicts this. It also investigates the active role the Monument played in the development of apartheid, and its place in post-apartheid heritage.

The second volume, to be published later this year, expands on the first, considering each of the twenty-seven scenes in depth, providing new insights into not only the frieze, but also South Africa’s history.

Met haar nuutste bundel, Disteltyd, neem die digter Marlise Joubert bestek op haar lewe; die verouderingsproses met gepaardgaande fisieke aftakeling en verlies, maar ook besinning oor familie, eie kinderjare en die onlangse inperking, beurtkrag en geweld.

Dit is gedigte met ’n sterk poëtiese en visuele inslag en word gekenmerk deur ’n introspektiewe, selfs nostalgiese, toonaard. Soos die distel as onkruid ’n saadpluim lewer wat lig, dartelend en lieflik is, is hierdie gedigte ook.

Disteltyd is ’n bundel wat weens die geskakeerdheid daarvan ’n belangrike bydrae lewer tot die steeds groeiende korpus van laatwerke; gedigte wat meestal ontroer weens die menslikheid en humor daarin verwoord, maar terselfdertyd ook die leser konfronteer met die maatskaplike onregte kenmerkend van ons tyd.

A deeply felt account of the relationship between a mother and son, and an exploration of what care for the dying means in contemporary society.

The book is emotionally complex – funny, sad and angry – but above all, heartfelt and honest. It speaks boldly of challenges faced by all of us, challenges which are often not spoken about and hidden, but which deserve urgent attention. This is first and foremost a work of the heart, a reflection on what relationships mean and should mean.

There is much in the book about relationships of care and exploitation in southern Africa, and about white Jewish identity in an African context. But despite the specific and absorbing references to places and contexts, the book offers a broader, more universal view.

All parents of adult children, and all adults who have parents alive, or have lost their parents, will find much in this book to make them laugh, cry, think and feel.

Have slums become 'cool'? More and more tourists from across the globe seem to think so as they discover favelas, ghettos, townships and barrios on leisurely visits. But while slum tourism often evokes moral outrage, critics rarely ask about what motivates this tourism, or what wider consequences and effects it initiates.

In this provocative book, Fabian Frenzel investigates the lure that slums exert on their better-off visitors, looking at the many ways in which this curious form of attraction ignites changes both in the slums themselves and on the world stage. Covering slums ranging from Rio de Janeiro to Bangkok, and multiple cities in South Africa, Kenya and India, Slumming It examines the roots and consequences of a growing phenomenon whose effects have ranged from gentrification and urban policy reform to the organization of international development and poverty alleviation.

Controversially, Frenzel argues that the rise of slum tourism has drawn attention to important global justice issues, and is far more complex than we initially acknowledged.

An average of 1400 people call the South African Depression and Anxiety Suicide Helpline every day. And those are just the people who know it exists and are able to reach out for help, either for themselves or for a loved one.

Journalist Marion Scher has spent years speaking to people suffering from depression or some other form of mental illness and felt compelled to share some of these stories in Surfacing. Each chapter tells a different and very personal story, from a Springbok rugby player faced overnight with mental illness to a successful businessman who attempted suicide three times in one day. A new mother whose horrific real experiences didn’t match the Instagram photos of blissful motherhood she had expected, and a mother’s heartbreaking story of surviving the loss of her teenage daughter to suicide. The common thread that runs through the stories is how each person learnt to deal with their illness, conquer their personal mountains and go on to lead healthy, fulfilled lives – more than they’d ever hoped for.

Most stories of mental illness go untold, hidden away, for fear of the stigma that mental illness holds. Marion hopes this book will inspire you to reach out for help for yourself or to offer encouragement to people you know who are battling secret demons.

I Declare is Andrea Dondolo’s first published book. A journey through years of gracing stages, evoking the effervescent spirit of the praise singer, the forerunner of royals.

Some of the poems in this book foreran and set the tone for nation building events, setting the tone for magnanimous decisions. Like a weaver bird’s nest, this book holds and gives love unmeasured, a feast for word lovers, cultural guardian, creatives, subject matter think tanks.

This is an invitation to take your shoes off, free your wings and soar.

Many of the photographs are as familiar as they are iconic: Nelson Mandela gazing through the bars of his prison cell on Robben Island; a young Miriam Makeba smiling and dancing; Hugh Masekela as a schoolboy receiving the gift of a trumpet from Louis Armstrong; Henry ‘Mr Drum’ Nxumalo; the Women’s March of 1955; the Sophiatown removals; the funeral of the Sharpeville massacre victims …

Photographer Jürgen Schadeberg was the man behind the camera, recording history as it unfolded in apartheid South Africa, but his personal story is no less extraordinary. His affiliation for the displaced, the persecuted and the marginalised was already deeply rooted by the time he came to South Africa from Germany in 1950 and began taking pictures for the fledgling Drum magazine. In this powerfully evocative memoir of an international, award-winning career spanning over 50 years – in Europe, Africa and the US – this behind-the-scenes journey with a legendary photojournalist and visual storyteller is a rare and special privilege.

Schadeberg’s first-hand experiences as a child in Berlin during the Second World War, where he witnessed the devastating effect of the repressive Nazi regime, and felt the full wrath of the Allied Forces’ relentless bombing of the city, are vividly told. The only child of an actress, who left her son largely to his own devices, Jürgen became skilled at living by his wits, and developed a resourcefulness that held him in good stead throughout his life. At the end of the war, his mother married a British officer and emigrated to South Africa, leaving Jürgen behind in a devastated Germany to fend for himself. With some luck and a great deal of perseverance, he was able to pursue his interest in photography in Hamburg, undergoing training as an unpaid ‘photographic volunteer’ at the German Press Agency, then graduating to taking photos at football matches.

After two years there, Jürgen made the decision to travel to South Africa. He arrived at Johannesburg station on a cold winter’s morning. He had a piece of paper with his mother’s address on it, his worldly possessions in a small, cheap suitcase on the platform beside him, and his Leica camera, as always, around his neck.

Are you tired of feeling stuck and unsure in your love life? Have you been searching for answers on how to improve your relationship but haven’t found anything that works?

Whether you’re struggling with attracting the wrong partners, feeling unsure about investing more in your current relationship, or simply seeking to strengthen your connection with your partner, “Uncomplicated Love” is the definitive resource to help you move forward with confidence.

This book is your ultimate guide to navigating the complex landscape of love and building a thriving partnership with your significant other.

Our country is in turmoil: political corruption at the highest levels of government; criminals able to walk out of prison at their convenience and live lives of luxury; and power blackouts for 12 hours a day.

But we South Africans also know how to make things work.

This book is a wealth of simple, cost-effective ideas that could immediately improve our nation:

• Want to know how to revitalize tourism in SA? There’s a way, and it’s free!
• Transform our policing system without breaking the bank.
• Upgrade our education and healthcare without adding a cent to the budget.
• Implement a sustainable alternative to the basic income grant while boosting the economy.
• Resolve the land issue without resorting to expropriation.

No matter who you vote for, get your politicians to drive these ideas.

South Africa’s progressive Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (No. 92 of 1996), which permits abortion at the request of a pregnant person in the first trimester, was hailed as transformative in terms of reproductive health and rights. Despite this promise, many challenges persist resulting in a lack of services, especially in rural areas where distances and transport costs are a factor.

Accessing abortion services in rural areas under conditions of liberal abortion legislation is neither straightforward nor simple. As the South African example shows, the liberalisation of abortion legislation was the first step in granting pregnant persons access to abortion care. Despite this and some progress in implementation, many challenges persist resulting in a lack of services, especially in areas where distances and transport costs are a factor.

Drawing on the findings of a study conducted in three rural districts of the Eastern Cape, the authors highlight the complexities involved in understanding problematic or unwanted pregnancies and abortion legislation within these communities; the reported barriers to, and facilitators of, access to abortion services among rural populations; and preferences for types of abortion services.

A key finding is the conundrum of costs versus confidentiality: lack of confidentiality involves additional costs to access services outside the area; high costs mean that confidentiality may have to be foregone, which leads to stigma. The authors place the findings within a reparative reproductive justice framework and present a comprehensive set of recommendations. Abortion Services and Reproductive Justice in Rural South Africa is an insightful and informative resource – the first of its kind –for scholars in health and sociology, health anthropology, health psychology, health sociology and social work, reproductive health policy makers, national planners, health facility managers and providers, and activists.

'n Suksesvolle lewe gaan gewoonlik oor dinge bymekaarmaak: groter rykdom, meer status. Maar volgens Jesus moet jy iets laat gaan as jy geestelik wil groei. Jy moet ligter reis, nie swaarder nie. Die dissipels moes hulle nette los, die ryk jongman sy rykdom. Tot die kerk het haar grootste impak in die geskiedenis gemaak toe sy die minste besit het. Die boek motiveer ons om af te pak en vyf ou gewoontes by die vroeë kerk aan te leer, gewoontes wat ons kan help om ligter te reis.

Jaco Strydom is die leier van Echo Jeugontwikkeling en deeltyds gekoppel aan Villieria Gemeente. Sy skryfwerk verskyn die afgelope tien jaar in onder andere Beeld, Rapport, Finesse, Kerkbode, Maroela Media en Weg. Hy is ook 'n gereelde blogger. Hy woon tans in die Echo-gemeenskap in Villeria. Jaco het studeer by NWU en UP.

Louis, a self trained photorapher , grew up on a smallholding north east of Pretoria in South Africa. Louis qualified in the field of commerce and followed a corporate career in a large financial services organisation . At the age of 40, Louis started to take photography, his hobby for many years, more seriously.

He enrolled for varies courses and did a lot of self studying on the subject. Louis discovered the value of photography as a medium to communicate without words and how to paint stories with light. He became passionate about photographing remote landscapes, places and ordinary people. Over the last 20 years, Louis has participated in several solo and group exhibitions. He exhibits permanently in Price Albert, his hometown, and shares his passion for photography with others during workshops .

Johannesburg: The elusive metropolis is a pioneering effort to insert South Africa's largest city into urban theory on its own terms. Johannesburg is Africa's premier metropolis. Yet theories of urbanization have tended to cast it as an emblem of irresolvable crisis, the spatial embodiment of unequal economic relations and segregationist policies, a city that responds to but does not contribute to modernity on the global scale. Complicating and contesting such characterizations, the contributors to this collection reassess classic theories of metropolitan modernity as they explore the experience of 'citiness' and urban life in post-apartheid South Africa. They portray Johannesburg as a polycentric and international city with a hybrid history that continually permeates the present. Turning its back on rigid rationalities of planning and racial separation, Johannesburg has become a place of intermingling and improvisation, a city that is fast developing its own brand of cosmopolitan culture. The volume's essays include and investigation of representation and self-stylisation in the city, and ethnographic examination of frictions zones and practices of social reproduction in inner-city Johannesburg, and a discussion of the economic and litereary relationship between Johannesburg and Maputo, Mozambique's capital. One contributor considers how Johannesburg's cosmopolitan sociability enabled the anti-colonial projects of Ghandi and Mandela. Journalists, artists, architects, writers and scholars bring contemporary Johannesburg to life in ten short pieces which include reflections on music and megamalls, nightlife, living as foreigners in the city, and built spaces.

These poems written over roughly 11 years describe an intense journey through trauma and abuses. The writer found strength while left to deal with the emotional damage alone after being treated like an outcast, when she finally voiced the truth about her abuser.

These poems capture a journey to hope breaking open. “Do not hide from your breaks or aches or wounds. Do not let them be drowned in silence. Give them voices, so that you can have a voice too.”

Recommended to all seeking meaning in misery, authenticity, courage and soul, in a broken world.

Decolonising the Human examines the ongoing project of constituting ‘the human’ in light of the durability of coloniality and the persistence of multiple oppressions

The ‘human’ emerges as a deeply political category, historically constructed as a scarce existential resource. Once weaponised, it allows for the social, political and economic elevation of those who are centred within its magic circle, and the degradation, marginalisation and immiseration of those excluded as the different and inferior Other, the less than human.

Speaking from Africa, a key site where the category of the human has been used throughout European modernity to control, exclude and deny equality of being, the contributors use decoloniality as a potent theoretical and philosophical tool, gesturing towards a liberated, pluriversal world where human difference will be recognised as a gift, not used to police the boundaries of the human. Here is a transdisciplinary critical exploration of a wide range of subjects, including history, politics, philosophy, sociology, anthropology and decolonial studies.

What do African feminist traditions that exist outside the canon look and feel like? What complex cultural logics are at work outside the centres of power? How do spirituality and feminism influence each other? What are the histories and experiences of queer Africans? What imaginative forms can feminist activism take?

Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa is the first collection of essays dedicated to contemporary Black South African feminist perspectives. Leading feminist theorist, Desiree Lewis, and poet and feminist scholar, Gabeba Baderoon, have curated contributions by some of the finest writers and thought leaders. Radical polemic sits side by side with personal essays, and critical theory coexists with rich and stirring life histories. By including writings by Patricia McFadden, Panashe Chigumadzi, Sisonke Msimang, Zukiswa Wanner, Yewande Omotoso, Zoë Wicomb and Pumla Dineo Gqola alongside emerging thinkers, activists and creative practitioners, the collection demonstrates a dazzling range of feminist voices.

The writers in these pages use creative expression, photography and poetry in eclectic, interdisciplinary ways to unearth and interrogate representations of Blackness, sexuality, girlhood, history, divinity, and other themes. Surfacing is indispensable to anyone interested in feminism from Africa, which its contributors show in vivid and challenging conversation with the rest of the world. It will appeal to a diverse audience of students, activists, critical thinkers, academics and artists.

Making a Life: Young Men on Johannesburg’s Urban Margins explores the dynamic everyday life-making strategies of young men in Zandspruit, a sprawling informal settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg. In many ways, Zandspruit typifies the precariousness of life in South Africa, where two-thirds of young people lack waged employment. However, rather than seeing Zandspruit as dumping ground, Hannah J. Dawson calls for an integrated understanding of the complex linkages between people’s lives and livelihoods, and the multifaceted sociopolitical landscape of urban settlements.

Based on 14 months of ethnographic research, Dawson investigates how social belonging, identity and economic realities intertwine in informal settlements like Zandspruit. This approach not only challenges conventional approaches to studying work; it also questions the increasingly prevalent perspective that romanticises the adaptive survival strategies of the urban poor. By exploring the intricate connections between those with and without waged employment, the author shows how young men manage complex social, political and economic conditions.

Making a Life offers insights into issues such as urban work, citizenship, un(der) employment and inequality in South Africa. At the same time, it contributes to a global understanding of how young people – men especially – manage economic uncertainty.