- Nonfiction
- Biography
A Childhood Made Up: Living with my mother's madness
Brent Meersman
ISBN:
Epub ISBN:
9780624089407
Publisher:
Date Released:
Price (incl. VAT):
Format:
Soft cover, 240pp
About this book:
I remembered how, when I was a small child supposed to be asleep, my mother would slip into bed behind me and hold me. She would be trembling. She couldn’t hide it no matter how young I was. ‘Go to sleep, go to sleep,’ she’d say, as if that would save us.
Brent Meersman’s poignant memoir of a humble and eccentric upbringing in Cape Town, South Africa, in the 1970s and ’80s reads as a stirring eulogy to his mother, and a vivid snapshot of the times. His adoring mother, a horse-loving artist, received only rudimentary treatment for her schizophrenia; while his father battled a vicious whirlpool of alcohol-fuelled depression.
A Childhood Made Up is beautifully observed and filled with wry humour. Delicate yet brutal, this story pays testament to the power of love and the quiet heroism of resilience.
‘An engrossing, deeply personal and authentic narrative on an important topic. Powerful . . .’ - Dr Sean Baumann - Senior specialist psychiatrist
‘Infinitely poignant, acutely written, often witty . . . Through pain and grief, larded with comic flashes, Meersman skilfully guides us to an unexpected and deeply moving redemption.’ - Justice Edwin Cameron
eBook Platforms:
Amazon
Snapplify
Takealot
Kobo
RELATED BOOKS

'n Baie lang brief aan my dogter
Marita van der Vyver

In my vel
Azille Coetzee

Vusi
Vusi Thembekwayo

Truitjie roer my nie
Erns Grundling, Schalk Bezuidenhout

Jeremy vannie Elsies
Jeremy Vearey

Christo Wiese
TJ Strydom

Look At Me
Nataniël

Durban Poison
Ben Trovato

Christo Wiese
TJ Strydom

The ANC Spy Bible
Moe Shaik

Because I Couldn't Kill You
Kelly-Eve Koopman

Pieter-Dirk Uys: Weerklink van 'n wanklank
Pieter-Dirk Uys

I Beg to Differ
Peter Storey

Starlite Memories
Dov Fedler

Lansdowne dearest
Bronwyn Davids

The Lockdown Collection
Melinda Ferguson

Smacked
Melinda Ferguson

Let My People Go
Albert Luthuli

Zephany (A)
Joanne Jowell

The Messiah's Dream Machine
Jennifer Friedman

Anton Goosen
Hanlie Retief

The Year of Facing Fire
Helena Kriel

I Choose to Live
Letshego Zulu

Meditating with Rhinos
Helena Kriel

Cul-de-sac
Elsa Joubert, Michiel Heyns

Get me to 21
Gabi Lowe

Yes, Really!
Kate Turkington

GiGi
GiGi

Brutal Legacy
Tracy Going

To Survive and Succeed
Mkhuseli Jack

Die kind se naam is Anneke
Juliana Coetzer

Heart of a Strong Woman
Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema, Fred Khumalo

You Have to be Gay to Know God
Siya Khumalo

Pieter-Dirk Uys: The Echo of a Noise
Pieter-Dirk Uys

Not Child's Play
Dave Muller

A long letter to my daughter
Marita van der Vyver, Annelize Visser

Betting on a Darkie
Mteto Nyati

My Father Died for This
Lukhanyo Calata, Abigail Calata

Jwara! Induna's Daughter
Joyce Piliso-Seroke

Kyk na my
Nataniël

Kwanele, Enough!
Andy Kawa

Zephany (E)
Joanne Jowell

Yellow and Confused
Ming-Cheau Lin

Magenge, We Need to Talk
Melusi Tshabalala

So You Want to Build a Startup
Matthew Buckland

Putco Mafani: The Price and Prize of Greatness
Putco Mafani

Robert McBride: The Struggle Continues
Bryan Rostron

Truth, Lies and Alibis
Fred Bridgland

Hooked
Melinda Ferguson

Things Even González Can't Fix
Christy Chilimigras