The Farm Girl and the African Chief
When author Anita Katherine Dennis walked into the anthropology class during her sophomore year at Ohio University in 1964, she was sure the class would prove interesting. She had no idea how right she would be. In Beyond Myself, she narrates the love story that developed between her and her anthropology professor, Dr. Ben Dennis, an African tribal chief. In this memoir, she shares how God sustained her during her interracial, cross-cultural marriage—especially as she played the role of chief’s wife in a remote village in Liberia, West Africa. Her life was full of extremes. She met the president of Liberia in the Executive Mansion—and slept in a mud hut. She visited European capitals—and lived in a remote African village. She flew on transatlantic flights—and was carried through the high forest in a chief’s hammock. Anita shares her struggles as she is accepted into the Mende tribe and lived in Vahun with an off and on kerosene fridge, swarming termites on the screens, a cyclone barely missing the house, and pungent elephant meat delivered in the middle of the night. Beyond Myself offers an example of West meets Africa personified. Anita tells how life with Ben was more than a marriage. It was an education and adventure wrapped into one. Ben allowed Anita to escape her narrow cultural confines and embark on a journey from farm girl to global citizen, with plenty of missteps throughout. For more information visit: www.anitakdennis.com. From the Kirkus Review: "....Dennis led a life filled with remarkable events and translated them into an entertaining memoir....overall she proves to be a storyteller with a keen eye for detail and fully re-creates the complexities of her marriage and the exciting challenges she faced in Africa. A cleareyed memoir about navigating fraught relationships and other cultures."
Our guest room featured a king-size bed with plenty of room for Bengie to lie
between us. The dark brown floor-to-ceiling drapes and droning window air
conditioner were conducive for sleeping. On our way to dinner, Sandy spotted a
tiny brown lizard on the hallway floor and let out a scream. The cook from the
Bassa tribe walked over, took a look, and said with a grin, “That's a sign of good
luck.” We ate Liberian dishes in the formal dining room: Jollof rice, a
cucumberand-avocado ...
