Charlene Smith

Charlene Smith is one of three authorized biographers of Nelson Mandela. Her work reporting on the liberation struggle in South Africa meant that Nelson Mandela read her writing in his prison cells on Robben Island and Pollsmoor and wanted to meet her when he was released after 27 years in jail. In the first week after his release, they met four times and a warm friendship developed. This led to Charlene writing Mandela: In Celebration of a Great Life (Random House) in addition to her first book, Robben Island (Random House).

A qualified trauma counselor, Charlene focuses on counseling those harmed by violence. Her book Whispers On My Skin is designed to help those harmed by violence to develop the confidence to have loving intimate relationships.

A member of Authors Guild and the American Society of Journalists and Authors, she loves living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, except when there are winter storms and she has to shovel. A passionate photographer she is never without a camera and never fails to be astonished at the beauty nature provides.