Erna Gianotten

Erna Gianotten was the second youngest of eight. Erna’s mother kept her close to home: she and her younger sister seldom went beyond its gates.

At age 21 during her first job as primary schoolteacher, she fell head over heels in love with a young doctor who was inspired by Africa. Within two years they had their first baby and Erna was teaching refugee children in West Africa. Their next contract brought them to an upcountry mission hospital near Lake Victoria, where she gave birth to her two sons.

Back in the Netherlands Erna started writing. She became a journalist and authored many articles and books on parenthood, relationships and sexuality, inspired by her husband’s career move from tropical medicine to medical sexology.

Besides her journalistic work, she became a dance teacher, and those experiences inspired her bestselling series of children’s books on ballet.

She gave up her career as a journalist to write the mainly autobiographical The Golden Light of Africa – A Love Story.