THE FIRE IN MY BELLY AUDIOBOOK
WRITTEN AND READ BY YANA FAY DZEDZE
Once upon a time, I was a child in foreign lands wondering how and where to belong. This is the story of that little girl finding how she fits in this world.
“I trust that anyone who reads this book will come to know themselves through
Yanas words in beautiful ways.” ~ Nyaniso Dzedze
Hi, my name is Yana Fay Dzedze and I have spent a life deeply immersed in different lands, cultures and traditions. As though different parts of who I am are scattered across the world, I have often struggled to explain what it is to be a child of many places.
This book, The Fire in my Belly is a reclamation of self, a search for home and an invitation for you to journey into some of the places I’ve been fortunate to meet. From Bali to my hometown Whitby, Senegal to South Africa, I share an intimate telling of my life.
THE FIRE IN MY BELLY IS MY OWN TRUE STORY
An English conservationist and German traveler meet in the Cloud forests of Ecuador. After six years of journeying through South America together, Yana is born. They put her upon their backs and keep on with their traveling lifestyle. As Yana grows she falls in love with the colours, fabrics, textures and expressions of the world. This adventure sets the foundations for deep curiosity around identity, place and belonging in foreign lands.
Now living in Johannesburg, married to a South African Xhosa man who is proud of his traditions, The Fire in my Belly parallels Yana’s stories of childhood with her adult life. From her small English seaside hometown to the incense filled air of Bali. From the sandy streets of Senegal to traditional rituals in rural South Africa. Tales of life, death and love weave to pose questions that delicately grapple with the nuances and sensitivities surrounding culture and the internal contradictions that come from belonging to so many different places in different ways.
How do we honour the mighty pull of the heart when it draws us to forbidden spaces?
Who draws the lines of what is prohibited or permitted when it comes to cultural tradition?
How do we find home in a world that we don’t fit in?
The Fire in my Belly is now available as an audiobook on this website and will be available across all platforms later this year.