Twilight People: One Man's Journey to Find His Roots

By David Houze

Book Overview

David Houze was twenty-six and living in a single room occupancy hotel in Atlanta when he discovered that three little girls in an old photo he'd seen years earlier were actually his sisters. The girls had been left behind in South Africa when Houze and his mother fled the country in 1966, at the height of apartheid, to start a new life in Meridian, Mississippi, with Houze's American father. This revelation triggers a journey of self-discovery and reconnection that ranges from the shores of South Africa to the dirt roads of Mississippi-and back. Gripping, vivid, and poignant, this deeply personal narrative uses the unraveling mystery of Houze's family and his quest for identity as a prism through which to view the tumultuous events of the civil rights movement in Mississippi and the rise and fall of apartheid in South Africa. Twilight People is a stirring memoir that grapples with issues of family, love, abandonment, and ultimately, forgiveness and reconciliation. It is also a spellbinding detective story-steeped in racial politics and the troubled history of two continents-of one man's search for the truth behind the enigmas of his, and his mother's, lives.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520243986
• ISBN13: 9780520243989
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.7" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Illuminating!

This was a wonderful book. I enjoyed every minute of it. I can't wait for the sequel;-) It is done in a context that sheds some light on historical events woven into to a compelling personal story.

The remarkable and true story of one man's determination to discover his familial heritage

Enhanced with the inclusion of twenty b/w photographs and two maps, Twilight People: One Man's Journey To Find His Roots by David Houze is the remarkable and true story of one man's determination to discover his familial heritage and find the three sisters he and his mother had left behind them in South Africa in 1966 to come to live in America. Following Houze through an epic journey that began with the discovery of his sisters in a photograph and his mother's confession concerning their existence, Twilight People simply captivates its readers in a kind of real life detective story through the persistent efforts Houze had to exert in seeking out the members of his long lost family. As the intimate and inspiring tale of one man's incredible struggle to reconnect with three sisters he'd lost contact with so long ago, Twilight People is very highly recommended reading and a welcome addition to any community library collection.

Truth Is the Fruit of the Search

The George Gund Foundation "endowed this imprint to advance understanding of the history, culture, and current issues of African Americans" we learn in the front-metter of "Twilight People," by David Houze. Their money has been well-spent. Subtitled "One Man's Journey to Find His Roots" I think of Alex Haley's ground-breaking book "Roots" so many years ago, and how how well-spent this journey is to re-locate David Houtze in his true life and a truer sense of family--on two continents. Another touchstone at the beginning of "Twilight People" are two maps--Mississippi and Southern Africa. David's story moves from a life of odd jobs, a residence hotel, a mouthful of rotting teeth, and family secrets through an unfunded investigation to uncover those family secrets--while creating not a little family chaos of his own along the way. But, the truth will out, and with it the pus and gangrene that has kept the family wounds from healing. Strands of reconcilation provide hope at book's end. David has gracefully set his personal story in the context of racial politics in Mississippi and The Republic of South Africa. His research is good enough that it's not labored and we can clearly see the connections between the two places--with his life and the life of his family serving as the object lesson. Focusing on racial hybrids and the complexities surrounding their acceptance and base of power is a genuine contribution to the literature of race. Truth is the fruit of his search: true work, truth within the family, and a truer sense of himself. Who could ask for more? --Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary