A shared language says “We’re the same.” A language barrier says “We’re different.” The architects of apartheid understood this.
“When I look back I realize she raised me like a white kid—not white culturally, but in the sense of believing that the world was my oyster, that I should speak up for myself, that my ideas and thoughts and decisions mattered.”
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
“Depression is not dramatic, but it is total. It’s sneaky - you almost don’t notice it at first. Like a cat burglar, it comes in through an open window while you’re sleeping. It takes little things at first; your appetite, your desire to return phone calls. Then it comes back for the big stuff, like your will to live.
Then next thing you know, your legs are filled with sand. The thought of brushing your teeth fills you with dread, it seems like such an impossible task. Suddenly you’re living your life in black and white – nothing is bright, nothing is pretty anymore. Music sounds tinny and distant. Things you found funny seem dull and off-key.”
― Sliver of Truth
Then next thing you know, your legs are filled with sand. The thought of brushing your teeth fills you with dread, it seems like such an impossible task. Suddenly you’re living your life in black and white – nothing is bright, nothing is pretty anymore. Music sounds tinny and distant. Things you found funny seem dull and off-key.”
― Sliver of Truth
“She said I was her ocean. When we started dating, she said she wanted to drown in me. I wanted to drown in her too.”
― The Nature of Witches
― The Nature of Witches
“He just never understood how white people could be racist in South Africa. “Africa is full of black people,” he would say. “So why would you come all the way to Africa if you hate black people? If you hate black people so much, why did you move into their house?” To him it was insane.”
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
“That's when I realized the police were not who I thought they were. They were men first, police second.”
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
― Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Little Women Readalong
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— last activity Sep 21, 2025 04:32PM
This June, I will be hosting a readalong of Louisa May Alcott's classic Little Women. Please do join in if you would like to read this book or learn a ...more
Brittany ’s 2025 Year in Books
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