My Life as an Alien is an expatriate memoir that confronts a multitude of life transitions, the difficulty of transcultural orientation, loss of identity, and the rediscovery of authenticity in a world turned upside down. The story spans the author’s idyllic childhood in South Africa, her troubled adolescence during the Black uprising, uncertainties of a post-apartheid era, the World Trade Center bombing, and the challenges of expatriate life in post-9/11 America. Relentless change is the common theme; in her personal life, her country, the world.

Relocating from South Africa to the United States in 2001, she and her new husband arrive at JFK on 11 September minutes before the Twin Towers are hit. Through a cloud of smoke the collapsing edifice emerges as a symbol of their uncertain future.

Lacking support and missing her family and two adult children, the author struggles with a rigid immigration system that denies her rights she’s always taken for granted. With loss of confidence and self-esteem comes loss of identity. The marriage buckles under the disparity between her and her husband’s quality of life. The unprecedented upswing in South Africa’s cost of living and the dollar’s weakening make it all but impossible for them to return home.

Resilience and a sense of adventure keep the couple on course. Their desire to correct the imbalance prompts relocation from California to upstate New York, and later to the South. However, feeling increasingly displaced, they toss guilt, blame, and anxiety between them, the mid-life crisis of each exacerbating the dilemma. Ultimately, it is only introspection that helps them create a new perspective, overcome personal issues, and accept their circumstances.

The author emerges from despair with the insight that she’s not adrift, but part of a transient world. She commits to the idea of reminding people that everyone plays a part in creating the future, that every consideration makes a profound difference, and that a harmonious universe is the only dream worth chasing.