“This is the story from inside of one of the great movements of our time. The manuscript is compelling. It evokes in an intensely intimate form many of the great events of South Africa’s transformation from apartheid to democracy. Everything is vividly experienced: the birth of your child, your husband on the run; you just out of hiding; your life over the years as a mother in and out of prison; organising demonstrations; cheering the release of Nelson Mandela, voting for the first time; testifying to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC); and seeing your daughter grow up in the new South Africa. Pain, joy, despair, love and idealism accompany you and the reader all the way. The constant humanity the book displays helps explain why we were ultimately able to resolve our conflicts in a peaceful way and the respect for human dignity that lies in the heart of our new Constitution. It left me feeling enriched, moved and proud”. – Albie Sachs
“In the pain, love, courage, humility and grace of your story, you have also told the story of countless others, some who have suffered less and some who have suffered more. You have given them all a voice through your telling. Our Generation is beautiful beyond words. It will help us find a way to move forward and help us claim for ourselves a new space in building the future of this country”. – Denise Sims
“I thank Zubeida for the energy and strength to sit down and put everything on paper. This is also motivation to many. Let women’s struggles, energies and strengths be known by all generations to come. Whatever stories women have, I am sure that they carry strength, wisdom, courage, pain, warmth, passion and so many attributes that could help build the strength of other sisters, youth and generations to come”. – L.N Mlisa, Acting Director: Student Counselling Unit, University of Fort Hare
“I have proudly followed Zubeida’s career over the years, as an activist and journalist, but nothing quite prepared me for the story that is told in Our Generation. It is a beautiful piece of work and she should be very proud. Zubeida has come through so much, but she has come through with strength and integrity”. – Jo-Anne Richards
“Zubeida was one and remains one of our strong women role models in South Africa. She was one of the faces I frequently encountered during women’s anti-apartheid meetings in the 1980s and early 1990s. I always perceived her as an individual whose modesty belied her nerves of iron. Thank you for putting your words down for future generations of women. Hopefully your story will serve as an inspiration for other brave women activists of the 1980s to tell their stories too and provide us with teaching materials we so sorely need as we inspire a new generation of women students about the courage, the wisdom and the resilience of the old”. – Elaine Salo
“Dear Zubeida, I just finished Our Generation. I must say that I admire your strength in telling your story and at the same time I thank you for giving many that will read this book an insight into a community’s struggle that has all but been forgotten. Draw strength from this deed and continue to tell your story, Thank you”. –George A Hill, Metro FM Lifestyles Editor & SAFM AM-Live & Midday Live Senior Producer
“Our Generation is in the autobiographical genre of Isabelle Allende’s Paula, and ranks alongside that work in emotional reach and power”. – Di Paice