Christine Jackman is in-conversation with Franceska Jordan discussing her memoir Under the Boab Tree.

Boaboa, pronounced ‘Bow-a-Bow-a’, is the name given to a real tree — the Baobab — that imparts wisdom to a growing child in a South African garden. This stirring memoir traverses Africa and Australia following the Speer-Jordan family, who fled persecution and poverty in Varniai, Lithuania, to South Africa. The political machinations they witnessed in that time in South Africa changed the women, forever, in this unusual family. As the story unfolds, Isabella and Franceska’s tenacity and courage surface as they prove to be hardy and, at times, seemingly indestructible with their strong roots.

Under The Boab Tree is a tale about the souls of these women connecting to the people they meet — like Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, Rita Hayworth’s daughter — and the richness of their hearts. The mother and daughter’s spiritual, political, and humanitarian awakenings in this chronicle give them power and purpose in finding truth and justice for others and themselves through adversity. This is a story about how Isabella and Franceska came to a place of acceptance and stillness, finding their ultimate saviour: love. A love that unravels and transcends exploitation and fear.

‘The premise of Under The Boab Tree is fascinating and beautifully told. I was immersed in the evocative world of Franceska’s mother— Isabella Jordan.’ Kelly Doust