We Only Come Here to Struggle: Stories from Berida's Life

by Berida Ndambuki, Claire Cone Robertson, Claire C. Robertson

Here is the life history of Berida Ndambuki, a Kenyan woman trader born in 1936, who speaks movingly of her experiences under the turbulences of late British colonialism and independence. A poverty survivor, Berida overcame patriarchal constraints to reclaim the rights to her labor, her body, and her spirit. She invokes a many-faceted picture of central Kenyan life in this compelling narrative.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0253213665
• ISBN13: 9780253213662
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.3"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Ordinary Woman, Extraordinary Life

This book is the culmination of a lengthy relationship between Claire Robertson and a market woman in the area of her research work in Africa. Robertson aims to portray the everyday life and struggle of an average woman in Western Africa. What comes through the pages is no less than an ordinary woman leading an extraordinary life. Through the course of reading this book, you will hear Berida's life story in her own words. As she encounters one obstacle after the other, from problems with her husband, to theft, to the birth and tragic death of her children, she continues to rise above and triumph. For all those who believe that African women are submissive and unempowered this book will be an eye-opener.