Proud of Me by Charlene Smith

Proud of Me (Penguin First Edition Account of Rape and HIV)

A South African Journalist's Unflinching First-Person Testimony on Sexual Violence, Trauma and HIV/AIDS

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Proud of Me: Speaking out against sexual violence and HIV
• Author: Charlene Smith
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication Date: 2001
• ISBN-13: 9780141003986
• ISBN-10: 0141003987
• Edition Details: First published 2001. Penguin paperback original.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated card wrappers (perfect bound paperback) in dark blue and purple with a butterfly illustration, Penguin Books.
• Physical Format: Trade-sized softcover (Large Softcover). Author photograph to the back cover.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Wraps: The dark blue and purple printed wrappers with their butterfly illustration are clean and bright, with no creasing or tears. The spine is clean and the back cover is unmarked. The corners and edges are sound, and the top and fore-edges are evenly toned cream.
• Interior: The text block is tight, clean and solidly bound, with pages evenly toned cream. No foxing or marks are visible, including on the final numbered page, 143. No markings, stamps or ex-library marks.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published by Penguin in 2001, Proud of Me is Charlene Smith's first-person account of being raped at knifepoint in Johannesburg in 1999, and of the fear of HIV infection that followed. It is a direct and personal testimony, and it records how the attack affected her, her children and those closest to her.

Beyond the personal narrative, the book follows her public campaign against sexual violence, covering trauma care and HIV/AIDS. Smith pressed for rape survivors to be given post-exposure prophylaxis, and the book belongs to the early years of South Africa's national debate on gender violence and the epidemic.

The book was nominated for the Alan Paton Award. It is a useful collectible copy for those who gather South African social history, women's writing and the literature of the HIV/AIDS era.

Author Profile: Charlene Smith

Charlene Smith is a South African-born journalist, writer and writing teacher. She worked as a political journalist in South Africa, Japan, Argentina and the United States, and left journalism in the mid-1980s to campaign against apartheid. After her 1999 rape she became a prominent campaigner against sexual violence.

Her other books include Robben Island, On the Sidelines Clapping: Gender in Southern Africa and Whispers On My Skin. She is one of three authorised biographers of Nelson Mandela, and her Mandela: In Celebration of a Good Life appeared in 2014.

Charlene Smith Proud of Me · South African rape and HIV memoir · Penguin 2001 first edition Africana · Charlene Smith sexual violence book · HIV/AIDS South Africa memoir · Alan Paton Award nominated book