this time to Quincy College in Illinois.

At Quincy, Mark is determined to conform. He quickly wins a partial tennis scholarship and becomes captain of the tennis team. He makes several friends, including a South African Afrikaaner, from whom he learns much about the lives and beliefs of white South Africans. In the fall of 1979, however, Mark receives a letter from home that says his mother has gone insane. He begins to spend much of his time brooding about his family’s problems and feeling guilty for being away from them. His friends take his withdrawal for arrogance, and once again he finds himself socially isolated. During this period, Mark discovers black authors and spends much of his time reading their books. He develops a desire to write such a book himself, although he feels he is not yet educated enough to do so.

In the end, Mark decides he cannot be happy at Quincy College. With Stan Smith’s help, he transfers a final time, to Dowling College in New York. At Dowling, Mark flourishes. Early on, he receives word that his mother is cured of her insanity. He makes the Dean’s List several semesters in a row and still finds time to coach tennis, edit the student paper, and act as a student ambassador to the campus administration. He becomes a vocal opponent of apartheid as well as an activist for civil rights and student issues. Because of this, he sometimes receives threats from people who call him “nigger” and “fag,” but he continues speaking out.

In his final year at Dowling, Mark begins writing Kaffir Boy. His professors encourage him to study journalism, but he is more interested in writing his book. He convinces Stan Smith to support him while he does so. For almost a year after he graduates from college, he works in solitude, thinking he has no chance of ever publishing his story. However, he meets an editor and an agent by chance, and both are impressed with his work. Not long later, he has a book contract for $35,000—an amount that allows him to support his family and continue writing for some time.

A year after graduation, Mark needs to go back to school to maintain his immigration status in the United States. He follows friends’ advice and begins studying journalism in New York City. Journalism school provides a satisfying social life that includes an outspoken community of international students who challenge him with their ideas. However, Mark is dissatisfied with journalism because he wants to be free to break away from objectivity and write his opinions. He ends up dropping out of school to finish Kaffir Boy.

After leaving school, Mark obtains a lawyer and applies for an H-1 work permit, hoping to stay in the United States as “a person with a distinguished merit and ability.” He obtains the permit, but the South African consulate refuses to issue him a proper passport. He is given a travel document that states he is a citizen of Venda—his father’s tribe—rather than a citizen of his home country. The American consulate eventually accepts this document and allows him to remain in the United States.

During his period of worry about his immigration status, Mark experiences several successes. He meets Gail, a white woman whom he eventually marries. American magazines and newspapers publish several stories he writes about South Africa. He begins giving lectures at prep schools, and he is gratified at the sympathy he receives even from conservative Americans.

However, Mark’s outspokenness against apartheid makes him fear for his family in South Africa. When two of his brothers-in-law are simultaneously murdered, Mark is sure that apartheid leaders are punishing him. This cannot be proven, however, and his mother urges him to continue to speak out.

Mark faces racism in his daily life in New York. He is allowed to remain living at the journalism school for several months after he withdraws, but eventually he is forced to look for an apartment. During this search, landlords repeatedly turn him away because he is black. He ends up living in a basement room in a poor neighborhood. Partly because of this, Mark begins to grow disgusted with city life. After some reflection, he moves to North Carolina, where he finds people friendlier.

The initial sales of Kaffir Boy are disappointing, but Mark works hard to publicize his book. He pushes the book on several TV and radio shows. Interest in the book picks up when People magazine publishes a story about him. Some time later, Oprah Winfrey calls and invites him to appear on her show.

Oprah takes a great interest in Mark. She offers to fly his entire family in from South Africa to visit him and appear on her show. Mark, who has not seen his family in nine years, is overjoyed. Several members of the family come for a month, and Mark and Gail get married during the visit. They all appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show together, and Kaffir Boy becomes a best-seller.

While Mark’s family visits the United States, several doctors in his neighborhood offer them free medical check-ups. They diagnose his mother with diabetes and his sister Florah with cancer. Doctors donate free care to both of them, and they return to South Africa much healthier.

Three of Mark’s siblings do not return to South Africa at all. George, twenty-two, is desperate for the opportunity to achieve an education. He agrees to restart school at the tenth-grade level in spite of his age because he cannot yet cope with higher level work. He immediately begins studying hard and succeeding. Linah, who is fourteen, and Dianah, who is eleven, do not adjust so quickly, but Mark pushes them to work hard.

Kaffir Boy in America ends with a tribute to hard-working South Africans who gain an education. In the final sentences, Mark pledges to continue dedicating his life to freedom and justice.