The winner of South Africa's prestigious Sunday Times/Alan Paton prize, this moving, illuminating memoir chronicles the life of an extraordinary woman in South Africa who was born in 1873 in colonial South Africa and lived through the early years of apartheid to her death in 1955. The story of Katie Makanya opens a window to a side of South African life seldom recorded, examining South Africa's patriarchal culture, customs, community traditions, poverty and hardships. Spanning two centuries and set in South Africa's major cities and towns, this memoir encompasses epoch-making events from the Boer War to the World Wars to the transition from colonialism to apartheid. Winner of the Johannesburg Sunday Times Alan Paton Prize for Nonfiction Discover a people's enduring power through the inspiring life of a fascinating woman. Critical acclaim for The Calling of Katie Makanya ""A very marvelous and precious document. . . . It is a magnificent story superbly told. The combination of Katie's extraordinary life and McCord's immense talent as a storyteller is overwhelming. I found it compulsive reading and deeply moving."" --Athol Fugard. ""I fell in love with the Delaney sisters, enjoying both the book and the play. It is good to know their sister in Africa also has her say, that Katie's life, too, can be shared."" --Nikki Giovanni. ""To know the story of Katie Makanya is to feel the pain and promise of life for blacks in South Africa for generations."" --Detroit Free Press. ""Emotionally compelling, resonantly detailed, and of extraordinary cultural significance."" --Kirkus Reviews. MARGARET McCORD grew up in South Africa. KATIE MAKANYA asked her to record this true story.