Democracy finally arrived and It was time to speak out. Gerrie knew that much of what he had been involved in was in at least immoral and usually illegal. The Truth And Reconciliation Committee seemed like the perfect way to move forward, he found it the exact opposite. Although he had gained some notoriety by going to the press, little of his story garnered support, a smear campaign on his character had been conducted by his old colleagues, and even some of the press fell into this disinformation.

Finding himself with a criminal conviction on a trumped up charge, no money, no home, and no job, life was indeed looking grim. I will give Gerrie credit though, he did not crumble as most people would. With a price on his head, he continued to try and get his message out.

Now aged 50, he lives in Sweden, far away from his family, friends, and enemies, he is a much happier person, and maybe one of the few people who understands exactly what happened in South Africa during these turbulent times.

This is the second book that I have read recently about this area and this time frame; they take two different viewpoints but share a very common thread. Peter Davies in The Scatterlings Of Africa concludes his book with the quote "and the terrorists won", referring to the ANC; Gerrie could have concluded with the comment "and the white terrorists lost". Two very opposing looks at one very disturbing period of history.

There is more than a smattering of bad language in Africa Will Always Break Your Heart, but it is so well put together, funny, sad, poignant, and disturbing, it should be on your summer reading list.