A dissolving dream: A young woman's experience in Amin's Uganda

by Heather Benson

Heather Benson's account of her years in Uganda is both the story of a marriage and a reflection of a country in crisis. Her book describes six years of an extraordinary life and offers an insight into the nightmare politics of a regime which the rest of the world long chose to ignore. The author recounts how she, a young New Zealand woman, met Joe, a Ugandan, at Victoria University. The couple fell in love and married. In 1969, full of idealism, they returned to Uganda to live. Heather took charge of a poverty-stricken nursery school, determined to make a place for herself in her new country. But Idi Amin was beginning his ruthless rise to power. Law and order crumbled. Joe narrowly escaped the death squads, and soon the couple were drawn into a world where fear and terror became the norm, where friends disappeared and bodies were washed up on the shores of the lakes. Into this chaos their children were born. Benson describes the intense pressure on her marriage, which increased as Joe drifted back into the familiar ways of his culture. Heather Benson left Uganda, with her children, at the end of 1975. She now lives in Wellington.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel, Africa

Paperback

First published October 23, 1992

Reviews

[Em's Adventures · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ubrupt ending. A book with this magnitude of violence, upset and domestic dispute I think deserves an epilogue because I have no idea what happens next! What happened to the author when she came back to New Zealand? What did Joe do once he realised they had gone? What happened to Uganda? Did Amin get taken out? Are all the friends mentioned in the book okay? So many questions, I am so disappointed.

This book is not for the faint of hearted. While it reads easily and has some amusing and nice stories, it deals with very, very heavy subjects like torture methods, all kinds of violence and domestic problems as Heather's husband is unfaithful, lazy and unkind. A very difficult read.

[Ruth Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horrifying account of the Amin era, and life in Uganda in 60,s and 70’s.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Facinating learning about what Uganda had to suffer in the early 1970s. I wasn't aware things were going on in the world at that time.

[Janet Mcdonnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uganda & Amin

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book years ago - at least ten years, even fifteen - and still remember it as being horrifying, fascinating and well written. Its out of print now though so could be hard to get hold of.