Natasha Freeman’s #ImStaying book is a tapestry of South African stories

The outpouring of uniquely South African stories in the #ImStaying Facebook group provide the backdrop for Natasha Freeman’s latest book.

Freeman is a Canadian-born author who now calls the North Coast home.

Following an upbringing in Alberta, Freeman first fell in love with South Africa when she completed a masters degree in Journalism at Rhodes University.

A further serendipitous meeting with Jonathan, now her husband, while backpacking across Australia cemented SA as her permanent home.

Primarily an academic – her book on fluvial geomorphology is on the curriculum at Rhodes – Freeman has developed a profound interest in detailing human stories with a scientific background.

“I researched and wrote the majority of the book in 4 months, you may have seen me furiously typing away in a corner of the Salt Rock Coffee Company,” she said.

Started in September 2019, the #ImStaying group was a response from Cape Town based entrepreneur Jarrete Petzer to the consistent negativity surrounding our country.

Within weeks, the group had exploded to include 400 000 members of all races and socio-economic backgrounds who shared their reasons for staying in South Africa, and there are now over 1.2 million regular users.

“I joined the group with no thought of eventually writing about it, but the stories were so powerful that I saw the opportunity for a wider narrative.”

The writing process for #ImStaying was unique, in that it had to include some of the stories that were being told on the page and thus began many hours of scrolling through the group.

After sending out thousands of messages to people, hoping for permission to use their posts, the replies began to flood in.

“There were so many amazing people from a cross-section of society who were willing to be vulnerable and help to produce this book.”

There are stories about many different issues, from interracial relationships to Good Samaritan taxi drivers and a helpful vocabulary for non-South Africans.

These are weaved into the book between Freeman’s writing about how the movement expanded and the growing pains that came as a result.

“There were many people who criticised the movement as an excuse to ‘stick your head in the ground’ rather than being honest about what was happening. The reality could not be further from the truth.

The group was a way for a sometimes disparate community to come together over our similarities rather than what sets us apart.”

Although the humanity of the group could be applicable to any setting, the stories are unique to SA.

Freeman lives in Palm Lakes with husband Jonathan and their two sons, and is hoping to start work on a new story soon.

The #ImStaying book can be found at most leading retailers.