by Neely Tucker
“That’s nice,” Tom said, his shoulders almost visibly weighed down by the idea of such a heavy-themed tome. “Meanwhile,” he said, “why don’t you write a piece for the Style section, just about the adoption? With maybe a little family history tossed in?” By the time the waiter brought the check, I agreed to write that story for him. The resulting 4,500-word article appeared later that summer.
Two years have passed, and I am now sitting in the same chair in my dining room where I wrote that story, this time writing the final words to the book that grew out of that article. I tell that story to make it clear the debt of gratitude that I owe Tom, now the editor of the Post’s Sunday magazine, on framing this project.
Vita and I also wish to recognize the large number of people in Zimbabwe whose professionalism, dedication, and devotion have saved any number of young lives both in and outside the state-run orphanage system, and improved the lives of countless more. Their work, either for free or for a pittance of a salary, was never less than inspiring. In Chipo’s case alone, the daisy chain of people who kept her alive in the weeks after her birth includes the man and woman identified only as Herbert and Constance, Stella Mesikano, Helen Tanyanyiwa, and Isidore Pazvakavambwa. Later, of course, Margaret Tsiga was resolute in doing her job in the face of bureaucratic intimidation. May peace bless all of your days.
There are many people to thank for their assistance and insight in the writing of this book, but there is only so much space. I ask understanding from those whom I omit.
My parents, Duane and Elizabeth Tucker, allowed me a room to sleep and a room to write in their home for three months, a concentrated bit of time and solitude that made the rest possible.
At the Post, many, many thanks to Jo-Ann Armao, the assistant managing editor for metropolitan news, who was patient and supportive of our situation even before I worked at the paper, and who has remained so since. I also would like to say thanks to Tom Wilkinson, Gabriel Escobar, Bob Barnes, and Jackie Jones for their enthusiastic support during the writing of this book.
At the Detroit Free Press, I owe a lifelong debt of gratitude to foreign editor Nancy Laughlin for sending me abroad in the first place. I would also like to pay a special note of tribute to the late Bob McGruder, the former executive editor of that paper. Bob’s editorial integrity, professionalism, interest in foreign affairs, and just plain decency were inspiring to so many people, myself included, for so many years. He is greatly missed.
At Knight Ridder, thanks to Joyce Davis, Morris Thompson, John Walcott, Kathleen Carroll, and the late Gary Blonston for their help to my family during an extraordinarily difficult time.
I owe a special, personal note of thanks to my friends and colleagues Corinne Dufka, Elmore Leonard, Tommy Miller, Dean Murphy, and Ann Simmons for reasons they all know, or should.
I have had the great good fortune to have Wendy Weil as my agent, who has provided help, guidance, and friendship, all with a sense of humor, and Doug Pepper and Juleyka Lantigua as my editors at Crown, who have done so much to put this into print. I also owe thanks to Glenn Frankel, Tom Lansworth, Malcolm Linton, Patricia Wicks, and Vita for reading early manuscripts. Any failings, shortcomings, errors, or omissions are mine alone.
I owe more than I can say to Vita, the girl next door, my best friend and that gorgeous Motown kind of a woman who has brought so much affection and laughter into my life. As I hope the preceding pages have made clear, I cannot imagine myself without your love, for you are, and always have been, the very best part of me.
And lastly, Chipo, light of my life, I wrote this book as a love letter for you to always have, and I am sorry it is not any better than it is. It is my hope that on some rainy afternoon many years and decades into the future, long after your mother and I are gone, you might pull this book from your shelf, flip through the pages, and know one thing: We loved you so. “E chiara nella sera/tu serai la luna che non c’é.”
—WASHINGTON, AUTUMN 2002
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NEELY TUCKER, a reporter for the Washington Post, was born in Lexington, Mississippi. He has reported from more than fifty countries or territories in Africa, Europe, the Mideast, and the nations that compose the former Soviet Union, frequently covering war and violent conflict. He, Vita, and Chipo live in Washington, D.C.
Visit the author’s website at www.neelytucker.com.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I have changed the names of four people in the book—the man and woman who found the girl-child in the rural areas, and the Zambian/Canadian couple who was adopting a child—in order to protect their privacy. I have blurred the exact date and general location in Zimbabwe of when and where the girl-child was found in order to protect ours.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Oliver Mtukudzi for permission to reprint song lyrics from Mabasa by Oliver Mtukudzi. Reprinted by permission of Tuku Music, Ltd. on behalf of Oliver Mtukudzi.
Copyright © 2004 by Neely Tucker
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Crown Publishers, New York, New York.
Member of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
www.crownpublishing.com
CROWN is a trademark and the Crown colophon is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tucker, Neely.
Love in the driest season : a family memoir / Neely Tucker.
1. Intercountry adoption—United States—Case studies.
2. Intercountry adoption—Zimbabwe—Case studies. 3. Abandoned
children—Zimbabwe—Case studies. I. Title.
HV875.5 .T83 2003
362.73'4'096891—dc21 2002154095
eISBN: 978-1-4000-8080-9
v3.0
