Like Sodium in Water: A Memoir of Home and Heartache by Hayden Eastwood is out in March from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

‘Dad thinks lots of things are right-wing. He even thinks He-Man is right-wing. I ask Dad who we are and he says left-wing. Left is opposite to right. If right is bad, then we’re the opposite of that, which means we’re good.’

It’s post-independence Zimbabwe and an atmosphere of nostalgia hangs over much of Harare’s remaining white community.

Hayden Eastwood grows up in a family that sets itself apart, distinguishing themselves from Rhodie-Rhodies through their politics: left is good; right is bad.

Laced with humour, anger and sadness, Like Sodium in Water is an account of a family in crisis and an exploration of how we only abandon the lies we tell ourselves when we have no other option.

Click on the link above for more about the book!

About the author

When not informing people about the inadvisability of push-starting motorbikes in close proximity to rivers, Hayden Eastwood develops cryptocurrency trading bots as part of a high-risk low-return business venture portfolio. Non-transferable skills from a doctorate in computational physics have likewise ill-equipped him for gooseberry farming, vehicle maintenance and relationships with women. He lives in Harare.

 

Categories Africa Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Hayden Eastwood Jonathan Ball Publishers Like Sodium in Water Zimbabwe