Dear friends,
This is a huge “thank you” to all of you who read When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew, the memoir in which I told the story of my childhood in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. You urged me to write the sequel about my family’s postwar immigration to Australia. I heard you, and, yes, it took me a few years.
But as many of us wonder what it means to be an immigrant in the U.S.A. these days, when even holders of student visas, green cards or a U.S. citizenship can be deported to who knows where, I am happy to announce that my book, Open Turns: From Dutch Girl to New Australian, is now available for preorder and will land in the bookstores by September.
I hope that my story of an immigrant girl swimmer who comes of age and finds her destiny in 1950s Australia, will evoke memories and stories of your own migrant ancestors, their dreams, strength and resilience as they worked to adapt and belong.
And if you live in or near Santa Barbara, please put September 14 on your calendar, when I hope you will join me at our amazing bookstore, Chaucer’s. I will share the backstory and sign your books as we celebrate the global storyteller in all of us.
In gratitude. Hendrika.
Congratulations!
Will pre-order now and book signing in my book.
You did it, Hendrika, and I couldn’t be more pleased for you if I tried.
See you at the pool♥️
Kathryn