Song for Sarah. Lessons from my Mother. Jonathan Jansen

2017. Hardcover with dustcover, 139 pages. Very good condition. Under 1kg.

Jonathan Jansen contemplates the stereotypes and stigma so readily applied to Cape Flats mothers as bawdy, lusty and gap-toothed and offers this endearing antidote as a praise song to mothers everywhere who raise families and build communities in difficult places. Tracing the early life of Sarah Jansen, his own mother,  in Montagu and the consequences of apartheids forced removals, Jansen unpacks how strong women managed to not only keep families together, but raise them with integrity. With his trademark delicacy, humour and frankness, Jansen follows his mothers life story as a young nurse and mother to five children, and shows how mothers dealt with their pasts, organised their homes, made sense of politics, managed affection, communicated core values how they led their lives. As a balance to his own recollections, Jansen has called on his sister, Naomi, to offer her own insights and memories, adding special value to this touching personal memoir.