Where the Wild Heart Roams: Family, Passion, and the Courage to Choose

What does it take to choose a life in the wilderness when the path before you has rarely been walked by someone who looks like you?
This is the story of an interwoven journey shaped by courage, resilience and purpose. Set against the breathtaking landscapes of southern Africa, it follows a young Black woman whose passion for wildlife leads her from university lecture halls to some of Africa's most remote and unforgiving wildernesses. From nights falling asleep to the roar of lions outside her window to days spent tracking wildlife in the desert, enduring scorpion stings and navigating the solitude that often accompanies field research, the wilderness becomes both a workplace and a teacher.
Yet this is not simply a story about conservation. It is the story of pursuing academic excellence through every challenge, earning degrees while forging a career in a profession historically dominated by men. It explores what it means to lead with authenticity as a Black woman in science, where resilience is often demanded long before it is recognised.
Beyond the field lies another journey, the deeply personal landscape of love, loss and identity. The heartbreak of losing a mother, the joys and complexities of marriage and motherhood, and the continual search for balance between professional ambition and family life reveal that some of life's greatest challenges are not encountered in the bush, but within ourselves. Through moments of triumph and uncertainty, this memoir reflects on vocation, sacrifice and the wisdom gained from choosing purpose over comfort. It is a story about finding strength in vulnerability, discovering leadership through service, and recognising that conservation is ultimately about people as much as wildlife.
More than a memoir, this book is an invitation to walk a path where the wild shapes the woman, and the woman, in turn, helps shape the future of conservation.