The Wilderness Between Us
Chapters (39)
- Cover
- Title
- Author’s Note
- Glossary
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Acknowledgments
Cover
Title
The
Wilderness
Between Us
PENNY HAW
For Jan-Lucas, who never says, “We’re not going to talk about your book again, are we?”
Author’s Note
Author’s Note
Have we forgotten
that wilderness is not a place,
but a pattern of soul
where every tree, every bird and beast
is a soul maker?
“Wilderness” by Ian McCallum
None of the friends who hiked through the Tsitsikamma with me, not even she who awoke with a migraine, will recognise themselves in this story. They’re not here. While the seed was planted as we walked, the tree grew up and out and into something unrecognisable. The trail exists, of course, and I urge you, if you have the chance, to tread its paths, raise your eyes and be elated. With its mountains, rivers, forests, flowers, birds and animals, the Tsitsikamma will soothe your soul—even if you had not yet registered its call to be calmed. You might note though, that the route and places I describe have been rearranged for the purpose of the story. This is not a guide book. Neither does it profess to offer medical counsel. The exploration of anorexia is loosely based on my own experience and, while I hope it throws some light on the pain and crushing shame that can accompany the condition, I am not a professional in the subject and make no claims as such. So indeed, this book is not a manual of any sort. It’s a story about people and the wilderness, which “is not a place, but a pattern of soul.”
—Penny Haw
Glossary
Glossary
Aardvark—medium-sized, burrowing and nocturnal mammal native to Africa, the only living species of the prehistoric Tubulidentata order and its name is Afrikaans for “earth pig.”
Bakkie—a light truck or pickup truck.
Bloukrans—blue cliff.
Boomslang—Afrikaans for “tree snake,” a highly venomous, tree-living snake.
Braai—barbeque.
Buchu—a South African shrub with aromatic leaves.
CPR—cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Caracal—medium-sized wild cat, native to Africa, with long,tufted ears.
Dagga—word used in parts of southern Africa to describe cannabis.
Donga—a gully formed by eroding action of water.
Duiker—small, brown antelope, native to sub-Saharan Africa.
Ericas—woody fynbos plants with small, narrow leaves and various flowers.
Fundi—expert, aficionado.
Fynbos—natural shrubs and vegetation occurring in Western and Eastern Cape in South Africa.
Genet—small, catlike African carnivore.
Goggas—South African term for any kind of small creature that crawls.
Grootkloof—big valley.
Heuningbos—honey bush.
Hadeda—Ibis bird native to sub-Saharan Africa and named for the loud calls it makes in flight.
Knysna loerie—a largeturaco bird found in the forests of southern and eastern South Africa.
Lapa—communal cooking and entertainment area, typical of southern African camping and safari sites.
Lekker—South African word for good or pleasant.
Meneer—Afrikaans for “mister.”
Naartjies—South African name for small, loose-skinned mandarin oranges.
Pelargonium—shrubby plant with fragrant leaves.