My thanks to Parthian Books for a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Sugar and Slate, originally published in 2002, and now being republished by Parthian Books is academic and author Charlotte Williams’ memoir exploring her search for identity, belonging and home. Born to a White, Welsh mother, and Black Guyanan father, her mixed background meant feeling an outsider anywhere she went—in Africa (where her father worked for a time) and Guyana (where she lived for a time as an adult), she is thought of as too ‘white’ while in Wales, in the town in which she spent her childhood (Llandudbo), being the only people of colour, she and her sisters were looked upon as something exotic, not those that belonged. While her childhood in Africa was largely carefree, the differences aren’t entirely away from her eye; back in Wales, there an urge to fit in, live as others do, followed by a rebellious phase; and later as as adult a more conscious effort at understanding her roots, through living in Guyana with her husband (who gets a chance to work there) and reconnecting with her father.

But Charlotte isn’t the only one in her family who struggles with this. Her father Denis Williams, author and artist, may have been born in Guyana but his education and thoughts make him very English leading to an unspoken internal struggle which he goes through for much of his life, between the two sides of his personality (the Western Lionel and the African Lobo as portrayed in his own book)—trying to break away from things Western, yet never quite being able to do so—at least not entirely. Her mother has a strong sense of belonging and roots in Wales, but in England (or later in Africa) she too is an outsider, never able to really fit. Amidst a life filled with movement (despite those periods of ‘settlement’ in one place or other), for Charlotte, it is her mother and movement itself which become home

It was movement that was home. Home was not a particular place for us in the very early years. Home was Ma.

Even when life becomes more settled, the search for ‘home’, a place to belong to continues, as also an attempt to understand and reconcile the two sides of herself. Lessons are learnt along the way, or things realised, for instance, her time in Guyana where she reconnects with her father showing her

… belonging can’t just be plucked off a tree like a juicy mango. History and attachment don’t just flow into your body like the deep breaths of warm air blowing across the black creek waters, that part of your identity can’t automatically fit you like the ‘I love Guyana’ tee-shirt you can buy anywhere on Main Street.

The difficulties, confusions and politics that lie at intersections of race and colour, the dynamics that affect relationships, all come to light, but ultimately there is also the realisation that behind all of these facades of colour and appearance, even culture, there might still be commonalities—common struggles, circumctances and problems which connect and which bind.

Alongside the exploration of identity and belonging at a personal level, Williams’ memoir is also about place. About Wales of course, north Wales more particularly where she grew up, and where she would return once again for it was home. We learn of of Welsh missionaries and their interactions with Africa and Guyana, of the early Blacks who came (or rather were brought) to Wales and for whom it became home, some of whom too struggled with homesickness and from being separated from their tribes, of the politics that went on to impact these lives when interracial marriages started to take place; and of the language politics that impacted Williams’ own relationship to Wales. Likewise, we get a glimpse of Guyana at the time, a society no longer colonised but dealing with numerous problems—poverty, lack of resources—and also as a result a newer form of colonisation through the expats and aid resources. (Having recently read something on the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean including Guyana, some of what she describes, places, culture and such were interesting to read about). The two seem so far apart, yet Williams finds how there is more shared than she first realises (not just the missionary history) as reflected in the book’s title—the exploitative sugar plantations in the latter and almost similarly exploitative slate industry in Wales.

This is a beautifully written memoir (combining prose and poetry and to a small extent art), which explores the complications and contradictions of identity and belonging, particularly for people of mixed backgrounds (but as one sees in her parents’ case, something that can equally be brought about by place and circumstances), but it is also a story of place and history, of the journeys we make to find ourselves, and of a realisation that there are deeper connections beneath the surface which bind more than we think.

Charlotte Williams has written a remarkable memoir which raises so many issues, appears honest and has a lyricism that lifts the often difficult subject matter. I live on Anglesey overlooking Parys Mountain which features early in the tale. To my shame, I was unaware that the minerals mined there were used in the manufacture of shackles for slave ships. I’m familiar with many of the locations and found the contrasts between the Welsh and African cultures absolutely fascinating. It’s such a unique insight and it’s difficult to understand the challenges faced as a mixed race person in 1960s Britain. Her perspective is recounted with both honesty and often humour but there are parts that bought tears to my eyes as I felt the small humiliations that were faced daily.

This is a remarkable autobiography. It’s a search for belonging that’s difficult to imagine. It’s a tale of prejudice and exploitation but in a positive and non confrontational way. Articulate, fascinating and I’d really recommend this to anyone who has an interest in social history and so called multi cultural Britain.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

A beautifully written lyrical memoir about the author's mixed race childhood in Wales and the search for her identity. She talks about her confusion and feelings of isolation being one of very few mixed race people in her area and how she dealt with it. A thoughtful insight into society of the past and of what national identity means and how it is measured.

Charlotte Williams grew up in Llandudno, Wales with a white, Welsh mother and a Guyanese, black father. This memoir looks at the parents, race and history that shaped her life. It looks at the history of slavery, colonialism and how slavery on the sugar plantations of her father's heritage shaped the slate boom and poverty of her mother's heritage. It looks at how you find a sense of home when you feel of neither one world nor another. This is fascinating. I learned so much of history that usually gets glossed over or left out of the mainstream historical narrative. This was so well written and has made me want to find out more and read more of this kind of memoir/history.

Sugar and Slate by Charlotte Williams was first published in 2002. Now, twenty years later, it is taking its place in Parthian Books' Library of Wales series, a canon of the greatest Anglo-Welsh writing which encompasses fiction, non-fiction, poetry and memoir. Williams' book, the 51st entry in that series, is the latter of these.

This is a memoir of her experience growing up in Llandudno on the North Wales coast (I grew up there too and recognised much) in the 1960s (it hasn't changed much since then). She is the daughter of a black father and white mother but feels neither truly Welsh or Guyanan. Her father heads back to Africa to try and find his roots, the family decamp there too, and this disorientating mix of countries, cultures and identities leave Williams trying to find a middle ground, a compromise that will satisfy her.

Alongside the memoir there is also the history of being black in Wales, of young African boys ripped from their homelands in the 1870s and being dragged to Colwyn Bay, a small seaside town of little repute and offering little. Of the first race riots in Cardiff.

Then there is poetry and song mixed in too - you cannot write about Wales and Welsh identity without mentioning song.

All these elements work to craft a truly memorable memoir, one fully deserving of its place in the Library of Wales.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.