Title: The Keeper of Families: Jean Heringman Willacy’s Afghan Diaries
Author: Sue Heringman
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
ISBN: 78-1-7283-8064-3
Pages: 372
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Synopsis
n a story never-before-told, these diaries reveal the astonishing double life of American Jean Heringman Willacy, alternating -at retirement age- a quiet existence in sleepy southern England, with her other life in vibrant, volatile Afghanistan.
As Jean travels back and forth, initially exporting fashionable Afghan coats, one of her worlds is crumbling before her very eyes: Afghanistan is shaken by violent upheaval, a society forcibly changed, and a refugee crisis of global dimensions unleashed.
Shocked eyewitness to the brutal military coup that leads to the Soviet invasion -and fearing for the lives of her many friends- Jean is transformed from businesswoman to tireless advocate for Afghan refugees.
For the next twenty years, as together they strive to overcome the horrors of the Soviet-Afghan War and its aftermath, Jean proves to be a formidable foe, when fighting the tyranny of bureaucracy, and a staunch ally to all refugees whom she befriends -their ‘Keeper of Families.’
Now compiled and transcribed by her third daughter, Sue Heringman, Jean’s unusual Afghan legacy features:
A foreigner’s eye-witness account and photographs of the communist coup
Live tape recordings from the streets of Kabul
First-hand experience of living in a Soviet puppet state
Stories of sharing life in the refugee camps in Pakistan and the life of refugees in exile
Interviews with Afghan women and their different perspectives on Afghan life
Tales from the hinterlands of the karakul fur trade
An art project for Afghan refugee children and their wartime drawings
‘The Keeper of Families’ is a story that, tragically, remains all too relevant today, as Afghanistan still makes headlines and one refugee crisis follows another.
Reckless or courageous, can this one woman, on her own, make a difference?
About the Author
Sue Heringman, the third daughter of Jean Heringman Willacy, was Director of the Instituto de Inglés and the Adult Education Program at the University of Southern California in Madrid. A Spanish-English teacher and translator, her literary translations include works by well-known contemporary Spanish authors and the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.
The compiling and transcribing of her mother’s testimony is the dedicated work of many years. Heringman currently resides in Dorset, England, close to where Jean Heringman Willacy lived during the events described in this book.
