Somebody's Heart Is Burning: A Woman Wanderer in Africa

by Tanya Shaffer

"It's my life, and if I want to run from it I can," quips Tanya Shaffer. An incorrigible wanderer, Shaffer has a habit of fleeing domesticity for the joys and rigors of the open road. This time her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400032598
• ISBN13: 9781400032594
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

I LOVED this book!

I had so much fun reading this book! As a traveler, I related so much to all the different pieces of it. I laughed so hard, and I also found that it had a surprising emotional impact that lasted long after I put it down. I couldn't stop thinking about the characters-- I felt like I knew the Africans, the volunteers, and the narrator herself, in all their glorious confused humanness! What a great journey.

Looking into the heart of Africa

Move over, V. S. Naipaul and Paul Theroux; there's a new kid on the block, but with a decided feminist slant. Tanya Shaffer's African odyssey, adds an affecting intimacy to the account of the people, places, and things chronicled in the usual travel book. Her role as a volunteer in the construction of schools and hospitals in small communities of Ghana, living in the homes of local families and sharing their lives, and her wanderings by the most plebeian public conveyances - overcrowded buses and canoes - are the settings for heartwarming encounters with individuals whose lives we come to share. Ms. Shaffer's staunch respect for cultural differences does not silence her from voicing her objections to men who follow sexist tribal customs.that demean their wives and impede the modernization of Africa.. Her narrative sets a brisk pace that holds and delights the reader through a charming picaresque tale of the personal growth of a young woman.

"Sand Angel"

Thank you Tanya for sharing your experiences with your readers. It was a joy to travel with you through Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Kenya and Tanzania. In Tanya's chapter 14 "Sand Angel", Tanya tells the true story of her journey up West Africa's Niger River to the legendary trade mecca of Timbuktu. When a tragic boat accident leaves the survivors stranded in a marshy, mosquito-ridden no-man's-land, they are forced to travel by canoe, relying on the generosity of nomadic fisher tribes for food and shelter. An unlikely trio of friendship springs up between Tanya (the only foreigner on the boat), an aspiring minister named Yaya, and a former drug-dealer named Touré. Passion, friendship, guilt, and redemption intermingle in this startling, often hilarious tale of a white woman traveling in Africa.Best Regards, David S. Fick, ...

Mesmerizing tale of a modern explorer

I received this book as a gift and really didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. The author has created a package of stories that unfold in curious ways, each revealing a little more about herself and the people she encounters. Shaffer's vivid imagery left me a lot to think about...I've already lent it to a friend so we can discuss. My only criticism would be that I wanted it to continue. I don't know where Ms. Shaffer is now, but I hope she's writing!

A fascinating journey

A friend gave me this book and I was completely entranced by it. Shaffer?svoice is so fresh, so wry, so funny and candid that she won me overinstantly! Her African adventures, first as a volunteer and then as a solotraveler, bring her into contact with Africans and foreigners from all walksof life. The depth of her connection to these individuals, and the way shecaptures the complex personal dynamics that arise between people ofdifferent cultural and economic backgrounds really sets this apart fromother travel narratives I have read. Each person she met became so real tome that I found myself missing them when I put down the book. She is alsoa great storyteller: her narrative is filled with suspense and surprises thatkept me turning the pages, eager to learn what happened next. Underneathall that was her ongoing struggle about what it means to be a person fromthe "developed" world traveling in the "developing" world. I laughed, I wasmoved, I questioned, and I learned a lot about Africa in the process. Agreat read!