About The Book
AFRICA OPENED MY
HEART
A MEMOIR
This is a love story. Heading to Uganda to reinvent herself after her husband's death, the author sought a new sense of purpose. There, she worked with AIDS orphans and found Ugandans open-hearted and welcoming. Subsequently, in Benin, West Africa, while serving with the Peace Corps, she found herself falling in love with one special man and wanting to share what she had with him. A memoir and travelogue, Africa Opened My Heart provides a thought-provoking look at the challenges of building a more equal world and the joys of finding new love late in life.
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All sales from Africa Opened my Heart will go towards the work of Bio-Benin.
About The Author
Julie Dreyer Wang began her writing career as a journalist at the Montreal Gazette. She then moved to New York City, founded and ran Wang Associates Health Communications and became an adjunct professor of writing at New York University. She also attended the Owner President Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Julie and her partner, Guillaume now run Bio-Benin, a non-profit that trains Beninese students to earn a living in restaurant cooking, beer making and organic farming. All sales of "Africa Opened My Heart" will go towards the work of Bio-Benin
Following the sale of her business she moved to Maine, trained as a landscape designer and designed gardens on the Blue Hill Peninsula as the owner of Blue Poppy Garden.
Joining the Peace Corps at age 65 led her to work in Benin, West Africa, where she currently helps operate an organic farm with her African partner Guillaume,
Together they run Bio-Benin, a non-profit that trains students in organic farming, restaurant cooking and beer brewing. All profits from the sales of Africa Opened My Heart will go towards the work of Bio-Benin.
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In 2011, a feisty white British/American woman in her sixties sets out for Africa to reinvent herself after the death of her husband.
Twelve years later, she is still living there with her African partner.
Africa Opened My Heart vividly portrays life in Benin, West Africa, showing readers a more nuanced and accurate view of Africans and the reality of their daily lives.
Not everyone is starving and living in poverty; a growing middle class is starting to make its voice heard; violence is less widespread than in the United States...we have much to learn from these gentle and welcoming people.
At a time when many Americans are newly awakened to persistent racism and searching for solutions to heal our society, Africa Opened My Heart provides a unique viewpoint, encouraging readers to question their own white privilege. This memoir raises important issues about racism, the efficacy of foreign aid and how we can learn to live together in harmony.
Testimonials
Anonymous
Julie, I just finished your remarkable book. Many times I wondered what could Julie possibly want or need from me when she has navigated a hundred hurdles in her precious lifetime and managed to enrich the lives of hundreds, dare I say thousands of African men and women.
Please tell me you have submitted to the QWF for the Mavis Gallant non-fiction prize that will be awarded in November.
It was compelling, very well researched, and impeccably paced and I craved to see Guillaume's beautiful face and muscled arms, as you unraveled your hurts, triumphs, wounds, and scars of an unloving and critical mother in your search for higher consciousness, which is just a fancy expression for love.
I look forward to meeting you.
Did you exhaust mainstream publishers?? Initially, it was shocking that you disparaged so many people in the book including your daughter-in-law, but as I continued to read, that honesty has, I believe, actually given you the keys to the kingdom. By not shying away from the truth, and exposing our most sordid flaws you make the beautiful people stand out as the authentic people you have craved to know and love.
This really is a triumph, as are you. I am in awe of what you have done with your life, and I hope your children can see how bright your star shines.
It was an honour to read this book.
Anonymous
Dear Julie,
I am writing to say how much I enjoyed reading Africa Opened My Heart: A Memoir. In last week’s Cathedral newsletter, there was a photo of the cover and an encouragement to read it. I downloaded a sample and began … obviously, I had to finish so downloaded the rest of the book. I was so captivated that I finished it in a day and a half.
You have captured the sights, sounds, and smells of Africa as well as the cultures so magnificently. Although Benin was foreign to me, I recognized in your writing my own experiences in Uganda and South Africa. I loved the way you intertwined the love of Africa with your own personal journey.
Many thanks for writing this book … it was a reading delight!
