Set against the backdrop of war-torn Rhodesia, Climbing Trees is a haunting and heartfelt memoir where innocence is fragile and family ties are as complex as the political turmoil unfolding around them.
Growing up on a beloved family farm surrounded by her maternal relatives and an adored grandfather, Beverley Campbell's early years are marked by comfort and belonging. But when her parents divorce and remarry, her world begins to unravel. Abandoned by her father, caught between two emotionally fraught homes, and blindsided by personal and national tragedy-including the murder of neighbours and the near-death of her baby sister-she is forced to navigate a fractured childhood in a country on the brink.
As the civil unrest escalates and the farm that held her happiest memories is lost, the death of her grandfather becomes a defining blow, leaving her emotionally untethered. Like a chameleon, she learns to survive, adapting to shifting family dynamics and the growing awareness of a racially and morally divided society.
Told with unflinching honesty and quiet strength, Climbing Trees is a powerful coming-of-age story about resilience, identity, and the courage it takes to find one's place in a world that feels increasingly uncertain.
Born in Rhodesia, Beverley's early years were spent on a farm with her maternal extended family. Shortly after their neighbours were murdered by terrorists in the mid-sixties their farm was sold. She attended Eveline Girls High in Bulawayo where teachers fostered her love of learning and writing.In 1977 she fell in love with an Australian on a working holiday who proposed marriage and a new life. Beverley arrived in Australia in March 1978 on a one-way entry visa and no legal passport.Today she resides in the Central Coast of NSW with her husband and their only daughter. She has a profound gratitude for her life here whilst retaining a love for the country of her birth.
