' Till the Sun Grows Cold

by Maggie McCune

A mother's story trying to piece together her daughter's life, from an unconventional middle English childhood to her dangerous life on one side of Sudan's civil war. Emma's passion for Africa led her to aid work in Sudan where she married a guerrilla commander and died mysteriously at the age of 29.

Genres: Biography, Africa, Nonfiction

310 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Zuzana Kubáň · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read but not in any way educating or eye-opening and generally even if someone just wants something “light-hearted” there are some many better reads than this.

[Susana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emma McCune died in November 1993, in a car accident, in Nairobi. She was 29 years old and was 5 months pregnant with a boy.
This book is the story of Emma's life, told by her mother Maggie. Maggie begins the story well before Emma's birth, with her own birth and childhood in India.
I enjoyed reading about the lives of Maggie and Emma, while learning something more about Sudan, but it was also a somewhat heavy reading, given that the precocious death of Emma is always in a corner of our mind... Even if it is a bit comforting to see that she had such a rich life and touched so many other lives. It's actually difficult to imagine how everything that she has done can fit in only 29 years of life!
Meanwhile, almost 20 years have passed since her death. Had she ever fathomed that her husband, Riek Machar, the father of her unborn child, would one day be the vice-president of an independent South Sudan? Where and who would Emma be now if the accident never happened? And what kind of young man would that child be today?

[J'pkorir Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a honest book and some places painfully so. Emma is indeed a person to reckon, her loyalty to Riek(now the vice president of South Sudan)especially. I totally like that Maggie kept God out of this although she is a christian, that kept the book focused(a memoir not a devotion). This is the closest book to my life, nairobi, sudan, lake bogoria and kerio valley(where I was born)...mud houses, children waving at mzungu(white person). I did most of the things Emma did(except fly to Australia)In my mind (the deeper regions)...I want to meet a warlord and have an escalating relationship. It has been a good read. I wonder what my own mother would write about me.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heart-rending, thought-provoking account of an impetuous daughter's short life and her marriage to a Darfur warlord and a mother's love and loyalty. Well-written and an insight into the disaster of this war-torn country.

[Chika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eine ungewöhnliche Lebensgeschichte, aber nicht so gut erzählt.

[Sally Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. an honest account of the authors life and her daughters. What I took from it was the power of love between a mother and her child because they are always your babies no matter how old they are.
The importance of letting your children lead their own lives-being able to follow their dreams. That you can’t always protect them as much as you may want to. Treasure them because none of us know what tomorrow might bring. It was a page turner particularly interesting learning about the customs and culture of Southern Sudan

[Paula Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected to really like this book - I love books that transport me to other countries and cultures that I know little about but this one I felt didn’t get under the skin. Somehow it just doesn’t hit the note - I’m not sure if it tries to be all things to all people and misses on all points. Not bad but many other books I could recommend.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written but difficult to read (and I almost didn't) because of the heartache of the author, the mom. I don't want to give too much away except to say there are many lessons in this book and I am still sorting them out. Definitely worth it to read this book.

[Letitia Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, an interesting alternative view to @Emma's War'

[Scott]

Was married to the current vice president of South Sudan

[Eshe Mūrutani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most compelling memoirs I have read in a long time. It gripped me right from the start and I found it hard to put down. I sometimes had to stop and ask myself if I was reading a fictional account or actual events. Yes, Emma McCune's life events, even those of her mother, were that exceptional. This book should be made into a movie!

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly good read. The story of a daughter raised in England who grows up to fall in love with a Sudanese warlord. Improbable but true, and compelling reading.

[Eva Lema · Rating 5 out of 5]

prachtig, meeslepend. Ik hou van waargebeurde verhalen

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful account by Emma's mother on Emma's life and marriage to Riek Machar.

[Gladys · Rating 5 out of 5]

captivating!

[Caryatid · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was alright until this woman veered off the track of her life to wallow in the exploits of her daughter who killed herself before the age of 30. I found the woman more interesting and became disappointed at her idolizing of her daughter to the exclusion of finishing her life story and that of the rest of her children. Sometimes, oftentimes, the nonentities of the world have more interesting stories that those who reach the world stage, especially if such fame is fleeting and futile.