Sheena Duncan

This account of the life of a notable woman reveals the extent of her influence in the quest for justice and peace in apartheid South Africa. It is a story that spans the period of some of the worst brutality, the most gracious transitions, the greatest achievements and the saddest failures that South Africa has ever known. Its range and depth depict Sheena Duncan's work over four decades in the church, in civil society organisations such as the Black Sash and, eventually, in the post-apartheid era. Her public life is balanced by her personal story as daughter, wife, mother and friend. Her respect and compassion for others, her faith, her intelligence and her honesty and integrity underpin her opposition to the cruelty of the pass laws and other unjust measures. The book explores her insights into complex issues of land rights, of militarisation and pacifism, and of devising ways to end conflicts - all still of relevance to our society today. Through her own words and the words of others (more than seventy people were interviewed for the book), through vivid memories and stark facts, Sheena emerges as a complex, multidimensional woman - loving, humorous, down-to-earth, flawed, talented, strategic, forceful, articulate, hard-working - a product of her ancestry, yet visionary and capable of personal transformation.