Holding Up the Sky (59 page)

That was all I took with me. Laying all the other props aside, I turned my mind to what was to come, shedding the stages of my life as a snake sheds its skin before moving onto the next incarnation, longing for something more.

In October 2005, I was having breakfast with one of Australia's most extraordinary athletes, John Maclean. I had invited him to speak at a Westpac conference I was hosting and we were in the middle of a morning-after debrief on his session. The conversation drifted towards our ten-year plans. I told him that ours was to work in Sydney for another ten years and then do a ‘tree change'–we would get a few acres out of the city where I would have the time and space to write a book about my years in South Africa. He raised his eyebrows and asked why I wasn't planning to start writing now, if it was genuinely a passion of mine. Then he looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘If you're really serious, I will introduce you to my editor, Hazel Flynn, at Murdoch Books. But you really have to want it'. I returned his stare, wondering if you could tell a guy who has done the Hawaiian Ironman three times and swum the English channel twice–without the use of his legs–that you were too chicken to make a dream into a reality, just in case you couldn't pull it off. I decided against it, took a deep breath and said, ‘OK'.

Two months later, Hazel was giving me a contract to sign and eighteen months after that, with much encouragement along the way from John, I was submitting the manuscript for publication. Dreams are heady things when you actually chase them down–and John, you are the dream maker.

At that same conference was Li Cunxin, author of Mao's Last Dancer, whom I had asked to speak on the second day. Over lunch, I mentioned the conversation I'd had with John and asked Li for his advice. He not only encouraged me on the day, but continued to support me over the next two years, freely offering advice on and contacts for all aspects of the writing and publishing process. His example is an inspiration to me.

Despite the image of authors as solitary creatures, writing a book is a team effort. I would firstly like to thank my managers at Westpac, Heather Miles and Ilana Atlas, for agreeing that I could work flexibly and still hold down an exciting role at the bank. Both have also been role models of high achieving women who are able to maintain vibrant lives outside of work.

This book would not have been written without my magnificent editorial team of Diana Hill, Desney Shoemark and Hazel Flynn, women who have coaxed the best out of me as we walked the corridors of my history together. Thanks also to the very talented Reuben Crossman for his beautiful design work which captured the essence of my years in South Africa and the way I wanted the story told. Murdoch Books have made a wonderful contribution through the establishment of Pier 9, a list that allows the stories of many fascinating Australian women and men to be shared and enjoyed. I am honoured to be part of their number.

I would also like to thank my faithful friends who, particularly in the early months of writing, spoke with such enthusiasm about the draft chapters that I began to believe I really could pull this off– namely, Tanya Kruimink, Heather Matejka and Colleen Crawford Cousins. And a special thank you to Grace O'Chee, with whom I have been friends since I was six years old. She kept all my Sizwe newsletters and every letter I ever wrote to her, which were invaluable in piecing together the details of those years.

Thank you to my children, Chaba and Mello. To Chaba, who every single day makes me proud to be his mother. He is an angel child who touches the heart of everyone he meets with his thoughtfulness, insight and lightness of spirit. And to Mello, who is becoming a bold woman in the world. In her sixteen years, she has dealt with more difficulty than most of us have to endure in a lifetime, yet she is sure of who she is and brave in holding her own line. To Mum, thank you for being the place I go to. I would be lost without you. And lastly, to my beloved husband Shaun, with whom I have undertaken a new journey. He understands that it is through imperfection and uncertainty that love finds its soul.

First published in 2008 by Pier 9, an imprint of Murdoch Books Pty Limited

Murdoch Books Australia
Pier 8/9
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Phone: +61 (0) 2 8220 2000
Fax: +61 (0) 2 8220 2558
www.murdochbooks.com.au

Murdoch Books UK Limited
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Phone: +44 (0) 20 8785 5995
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www.murdochbooks.co.uk

Chief executive: Juliet Rogers
Publishing director: Kay Scarlett

Commissioning editors: Hazel Flynn and Diana Hill
Project manager and editor: Desney Shoemark
Concept and design: Reuben Crossman
Production: Kita George

Text copyright © Sandy Blackburn-Wright 2008
Design copyright © Murdoch Books Pty Limited 2008
To contact Sandy Blackburn-Wright, go to www.wrightings.com.au

Quoted material appearing on pages 161–163, 165, 171–172, 174–175 and
176 has been sourced from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Hearing Transcripts, Pietermaritzburg, 18–21 November, 1996.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior
permission of the publisher.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Blackburn-Wright, Sandy.

Title: Holding up the sky [electronic resource] : an African life /
Sandy Blackburn-Wright.

ISBN: 9781742660783 (ebook : epub )

Subjects: Blackburn-Wright, Sandy.
                 Community development personnel--South Africa--Biography.
                 Apartheid--South Africa.
                 Blacks--South Africa--Social life and customs.
                 Country life--South Africa.

Dewey Number: 307.1412092