Njoroge Njoroge, PhD and professor of History, University of Hawaii writes, "In these times of chaos we need, we must, have voices cast out to pull us back together...That's what makes the work of Kathryn Takara so powerful." In critical and compassionate word pictures, Kathryn Takara captures in poetry and selected photos that enhance the power of poetry, the political legacy of a brutal colonial history of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and a tenacious people's struggle for a return to democracy, political power, self-determination, and a dignified survival long after a promised representative government and democracy have failed. However, the reader is left with a feeling of compassion for the people of Zimbabwe who seem to be supported by a spiritual optimism, hope, faith and their ability to laugh even as they cry.