My Race: A Jewish Girl Growing Up Under Apartheid in South Africa

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0981610234, Hardcover)

My Race is the memoir of a gifted Jewish athlete growing up under the apartheid system of South Africa.

As both an outsider excluded from the conservative Christian mainstream and an insider who reaped many of the benefits of a society founded on white supremacy, South African track star Lorraine Lotzof Abramson had a unique vantage point on the apartheid experience.

Her grandparents left Eastern Europe to escape oppression, only to find themselves in another oppressive society. This time, by virtue of their white skin, they were on the same side of the fence as the oppressors. Lorraine's first-hand account shares her ambitions, her achievements, her losses, her family ties -- and her growing unease with the system of social inequality that simultaneously excluded her and celebrated her.

She eventually closes the door on the South African chapter of her life by immigrating to the United States, while her family remained in South Africa. Along the way, Lorraine learns that the real race -- the marathon that is a long and eventful human life -- is a journey towards compassion.