Overview
At the age of twenty-five, Kuki Gallman, divorced and badly injured in a devastating car accident, left Italy to convalesce in Africa with the man who would become her second husband. Enchanted by the land, they established a vast ranch on the Laikipia plateau in Kenya. But Africa's splendor came with a price. Filled with pain and joy, beauty and drama, Gallman's haunting memoir "captures perfectly the magic of Kenya" (The New York TImes Book Review).
Synopsis
At the age of 25, Kuki Gallmann moved to Kenya with her future husband, where they established a vast ranch. But Africa's beauty does't come without a price, and when tragedy struck, Kuki found herself pregnant and alone with her young son and 90,000 acres of Africa to oversee. 32 pages of photos, half in full color.
Publishers Weekly
Both a dream fulfilled and personal tragedy are revealed in this moving memoir. As a child living in Italy, the author was fascinated with Africa. Then, in 1972 at 25, divorced and with a young son, she visited Kenya with her then-fiance, Paolo Gallmann. They settled on a ranch on the Laikipia Plateau at the edge of the Great Rift Valley. With an abundance of nearby wildlife--elephants, rhino, buffalo--the Gallmanns enjoyed an idyllic life among an expatriate community. Then, in 1981, when they were expecting a child, Paolo was killed in a traffic accident. Gallmann gave birth to a daughter, Sveva, and stayed on the ranch with her son, 14-year-old Emmanuele, who died of snakebite three years later. This heartrending account reveals its author's courage and strength. As a living memorial, she started a foundation to explore ways to combine development with conservation.