Just keep breathing : Birth stories

Just keep breathing brings a stunningly diverse collection of South African birth stories to print.

The collection is part of a new wave of South African non-fiction writing and marks a new phase in the maturing of our democracy.

These personal narratives of one of the most commonplace, yet profound, human experiences, reveal how far we have come from the divisive history of the apartheid era.

They represent, in the most redemptive sense, a narrative of the ordinary in a nation marked and shaped by the extraordinary.

They symbolise all that we share. By turns harrowing, hilarious, shocking, brave and deeply poignant, these 28 stories include not only the remarkable stories of women, including a rural midwife, a Rwandan refugee and a surrogate mother, but also contributions by men, who write movingly from the margins. A predominantly literary collection, with contributions by established writers of various cultural backgrounds, it provides a platform for vibrant new South African voices.

The collection includes biographies of contributors, with accompanying photographs.