Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
A gripping memoir
Author to speak at book festival on her harrowing and often humorous account of her life
BE ENGAGED, inspired and entertained with book launches, panel discussions, workshops, masterclasses, readings, performances and more at the Open Book Festival from Wednesday to Sunday. Venues include the Fugard Theatre, District Six Homecoming Centre, A4 Arts Foundation, and Book Lounge, which are all within walking distance of one another.
Selected events will also take place outside the city centre, such as at Elsies River Library and Molo Mhlaba School.
“We have put together a programme that we hope will appeal to book lovers of all interests and ages,” says festival director Mervyn Sloman.
“The stimulating conversations that arise from the panel discussions, both during and after the event, are what make the festival unique. We are always grateful to the authors who are so generous with their time, and the audience for their willingness to openly engage in debate.”
Thanks to the support of partners like the Canada Council of the Arts, the French Institute of SA, the Swedish Embassy, the University of Stellenbosch and the Embassy of Argentina, international authors such as Guy Delisle (Hostage), graphic artist pair Icinori, Jonas Bonnier (The Helicopter Heist), Nicole Dennis Benn (Here Comes the Sun) and Mariana Enriquez (Things We Lost in the Fire) will be attending.
“Other international guests will include authors such as Aminatta Forna, Lesley Arimah, graphic novelist Mariko Tamaki and Adam Smyer, whose debut novel Knucklehead is a refreshingly honest, fierce and intelligent read,” says Sloman. “All this, in addition to the more than 100 incredible South African authors who are joining our programme.”
Among those is Desiree-Anne Martin, whose memoir We Don’t Talk About It. Ever. was published just last month. The story of her life, which includes heroin addiction followed by recovery, quickly found a place in the top 10 non-fiction titles at Exclusive Books.
In Martin’s own words, the book is “the harrowing, brutal and often humorous story of my fractured and dysfunctional life from my first intake of breath until the defining moment of reclamation in my life this year.”
It follows her precarious odyssey through childhood sexual abuse, a family tree rotting with addiction, her own response to her environment, whereby she escaped the pain of her intolerable emotions through outrageous dishonesty, disordered eating and slimming tablet addiction, alcoholism and, eventually, addiction to narcotics of all shapes and sizes.
“It also recounts my desperate attempt to find love and fill an abysmal void through sex and toxic relationships,” says Martin.
“But it is more than just ‘junkie lit’; it also depicts my moment of clarity where I find recovery, as well as dispelling the myth that recovery and sobriety protects you from the pain of just being human.
“I speak about mental illness and madness in recovery, as well as my struggles of becoming a parent and post-natal depression.”
Martin, who is an addictions counsellor, comes from a legacy of trans-generational secret-keeping, which compelled her to break the silence and speak her truth, from her perspective, “so that my story may, perhaps, resonate with someone and allow them to break out of their own silent imprisonment”.
Public reaction to the book has been overwhelming, says Martin. “I have felt gloriously giddy by the entirely positive response to my book. Readers are relating to the story or parts of the story, commending me for my courage, and they are genuinely connecting with me and my truth. I love hearing that people devoured the book in one sitting.”