First Trimester
Durban Child and Family Welfare Society (now Child Welfare Durban and District) — for placing me with my wonderful 'forever family' and altering my life trajectory.
Author Sherrie Eldridge — for your groundbreaking book Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew, Delta, 1999, which finally validated my feelings as an adoptee.
Alternative DJs Barney Simon and Helgé Janssen — for shaping the soundtrack to my youth.
Second Trimester
My writing mentors Amanda Patterson and Anthony Ehlers of Writers Write.
The Librarian at the Playhouse Company (ex-Natal Playhouse) Archives — for confirming certain dates in order for me to portray an accurate sequence of events in this story.
Jenny Crwys-Williams — for the opportunity of an on-air telephonic interview on your Book Show (4th June 2015).
David Hendersen of MyeBook, indie authors Rachel Morgan and Sonia Killik, as well as Clare-Rose Julius of Porcupine Press — for helping me out with industry contacts and invaluable insights regarding best practice for the production, printing, distribution, and marketing of self-published books.
Carlyle Labuschagne of the South African Indie Revolution, Melissa Delport of Authors Magazine, Mandi Friedman, Marcia Love, and Deborah Du Plooy — for opening your little black books, plus all the networking opportunities and promotional platforms you so generously provide for our community.
Life coach Graham Le Sar — for helping me 'shift my stuff', and psychiatrist Dr Eleanor Holzapfel — for suggesting I give life coaching a try in the first place.
Third Trimester
Last but not least, my tribe of loyal friends, family, and colleagues — for all your unwavering support and patience during the lengthy gestation and delivery of my book baby. I couldn't have done it without you.
YOU ARE READING
Umbilicus: An autobiographical novel
General FictionCharlotte van Katwijk guards herself like a secret. Kids are cruel, and she knows if they find out she's adopted, she'll be a bully's easy target. When they are fourteen, Charlotte's best friend's mom commits suicide. It triggers in Charlotte a se...
