On the Edge: A Woman's Turbulent Life

On the Edge is a survivor's tale. It spans the precarious journey of Hunter's adult life. The memoir begins in London with a backstreet abortion, then moves to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) during the final years of the British Empire and from there to South Africa during the apartheid regime.


Hunter shares her experiences of living under an oppressive government while she raised a family, gained degrees in social work and psychology, divorced her authoritarian husband, worked as a journalist and social worker, and rejoiced in the discovery of herself as a writer.


Written as memoir, memoir-based fiction and poetry, On the Edge describes the violence of the South African authorities and of the liberation movement, the African National Congress. It contains accounts of the conscription of her two sons to fight the government's enemies in neighboring countries, and it includes an unsolved mystery about a bullet that narrowly missed her head.


The book finally celebrates the election of Nelson Mandela in South Africa's first democratic election and follows the author when she returns to the USA, the country of her birth, and encounters new challenges.


A life-affirming literary adventure.