My Country, Africa

Born in French Equatorial Africa, Andrée Blouin played a leading role in the struggles for decolonization that shook the continent in the 1950s and 1960s. From the colonial orphanage of her childhood, she escaped an arranged marriage to become an avatar of pan-Africanism, advising heads of state from Algiers to Abidjan. Her autobiography retraces this journey. In Guinea, where Blouin accompanied Sékou Touré’s campaign for independence, she came into contact with leaders of the liberation movement in the Belgian Congo, who recruited her to run their women’s organization. Blouin witnessed the Congolese tragedy up-close, as an adviser to Patrice Lumumba, whose arrest and assassination she narrates in unforgettable detail.

Blouin’s memoir is an essential contribution to the history of anti-colonialism and radical black feminism. Beginning with the formative experience of colonial rule, she offers a sweeping survey of pan-African nationalism, encompassing the intricacies of revolutionary diplomacy, comradeship, and betrayal. Alongside intimate portraits of the movement’s leaders, Blouin gives insight into the often overlooked contribution of African women.

Embodying pan-Africanism, Blouin befriended, counseled or lobbied the first presidents or prime ministers of Algeria, both Congos, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Ghana. -- Stuart A. Reid New York Times
An amazingly good and moving description of a childhood blighted by the horrors of colonialism, told by an extraordinary woman . Riveting. -- Jessica Mitford
A penetrating study of colonial society. -- Studs Terkel
Magnificent ... Illuminates our understanding of how the politics of a country shapes its people's lives. -- Tillie Olsen
Our enemies attack her all the time. Not for what she's done, but simply because she is a woman, and she is there, in the thick of it. -- Patrice Lumumba
An extraordinary and vital work by one of the towering figures of anticolonial resistance. That Andrée Blouin has not been as renowned as Lumumba, Sankara, Cabral, has always been a scandalous injustice. This new edition of her memoir goes some way to redressing that, and is a publishing and political event of immense importance. -- China Miéville, author of A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto
Through My Country, Africa, Blouin's extraordinary story is being released for a second time, this time into a world that shows greater interest in the historical contributions of women. New readers will learn of the girl who went from being stashed away by the colonial system, to fighting for the freedom of millions of black Africans. -- Wedaeli Chibelushi BBC
This is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of race, gender, and freedom. Publishers Weekly
Measured and nuanced ... My Country, Africa is an intense history of colonialism. Blouin's story serves as a microcosm for the near misses, cycles and reason-defying hope that characterise Africa's past. -- Colm McKenna Irish Times
Bravo, Verso Books, for publishing Andrée's, more relevant than ever, story. -- Rosita Sweetman Irish Independent
All readers of this insider's view of the fight for African independence will be inspired by the contribution made by this important and much neglected woman in the black liberation movement. -- Roger McKenzie Morning Star
[Blouin's] general lack of recognition is of course an indictment on the ethnocentric, as well as androcentric, way history is narrated ... riveting -- Tola Ositelu Afropean
A remarkable autobiography that feels like a relevant reflection on the present, not a historical account ... Blouin's voice rings loud and clear throughout her account of her life, conversational and at times proudly regaling. I found myself gripped, like a junior listening to a family elder, and wondered how she seemed so comfortable in her skin and in command of her story despite such painful experiences. -- Nesrine Malik Guardian
A moving testimony to political radicalization, independence, and the skillful use of language as a weapon in the hands of a fearless activist. As a woman in the male-dominated world of state leaders in the 1960s, her biography is unique -- Von Julian Weber Die Tageszeitung

Andrée Blouin was a central figure in the struggles for decolonization that swept Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. Her activism gave her a front-row seat to the triumph and tragedy of national liberation movements across the continent.

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