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Jennifer Graham with her recently published book “An Immoral Proposal”. Photo by J. Peter Hvidsten Continued from page 38 to the airport to see her off. “Tt was one of the best Christ- mases of my life,” Jennifer recalls. “The gift of being flown to free- dom!” After leaving their homeland, Michael and Jennifer were finally able to enjoy the freedom to have anormal relationship. Michael’s career as an engineer took them. all over the world, including New Zealand, Alabama and Canada. The Grahams became “global citizens.” They didn’t visit South Africa until apartheid ended. Jennifer says she is gratified that future genera- tions of South Africans will not have to endure the “social injus- tices” of her generation thanks to the late Nelson Mandela, “really an. amazing man, with great strength of character, who set an example of how to live your life. He was brave and brought about change 4 FOCUS - FEBRUARY 2014 through peaceful means, through an attitude of forgiveness, not revenge and violence.” “People of mixed race always struggle with their identity,” Jennifer points out, speaking from experience. The proud parents of two grown children and five grandchildren, the Grahams are still happily mar- tied, despite the rocky early years in South Africa where there were so many obstacles to the future of their relationship. The couple moved from Uxbridge to Nestleton in August of 2013. While Michael is retired now, Jennifer, at age 57, is just starting her career as an author. Twenty years in the making, Jen- nifer B. Graham launched her first book, a memoir, aptly entitled An Immoral Proposal, at the Blue Heron bookstore in Uxbridge on November 2, 2013. Jennifer studied Communication and Print Journalism in Alabama, and over the years, she has written sci- entific and medical articles as well as stories about food and travel. “Newspaper writing helped me sharpen my writing chops,” Jen- nifer says. Her journalistic background also helped her to tell her life story “objectively.” An Immoral Proposal started out as a work of fiction, but Jennifer agreed that “it didn’t ring true” after a publisher friend in New Zealand provided feedback on an early draft. She realized that her story had to be autobiographical to be realistic. Writing the book was “an emo- tional process,” Jennifer recalls. “The book took on its own energy, and I relinquished control of it. It was liberating. It’s like a mirror reflecting back.” “There was a lot of rewriting and editing” to polish the book, and Jennifer took advantage of the quiet space overlooking the lake at Scugog Library to complete the manuscript. An Immoral Proposal is a “deeply personal” memoir, begin- ning with Jennifer’s childhood, de- tailing what life was like growing up in Capetown. It’s peppered with anecdotes about the sometimes comical, sometimes tragic, antics of the members of her extended fam- ily. Spiced with the intrigue of her secret romance, Jennifer’s life story is set against a vivid socio-historic backdrop. Reading An Immoral Proposal transports you to a differ- ent world. Photographs and copies of handwritten love letters bring the story to life. But as Jennifer repeatedly warns, “No spoiler alerts!” Future plans include writing a sequel to An Immoral Proposal, and a recipe book featuring favou- rites from her childhood, including bobotie, a Malay influenced sweet, sour and spicy meat dish. “It's so delicious,” Jennifer says. Look for An Immoral Proposal on Amazon.com or at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge. By Lynn Campbell Focus on Scugog