Page 4 - The Mending Season

For my niece, DITSHWANELO,the girl who knows everythingAcknowledgementsFllalwaysbe gratefultomysisterTumelo,whotookthebook out of my hands and helped me get a good night’s sleep; everyone at OUP for their time and support; my friends Jen Chang and Darryl Leroux who made time to read it when they had so many other things to take care of in their lives; and my most righteous partner, Jen, whose support is immeasurable.Thanks also to the women who raised me and saw me through our mending season, Mama, Mama Lali, Mama Meisie ... my sisters Choarelo, Tumelo and Lopang ... and Tshiamo, the fifth sister. And of course all the mothers and grandmothers on our street, who watched me play and said, “Kagiso, Dumedisa!”until I got it right.