A NOVEL OF EMIGRATION, IDENTITY AND THE COST OF BELONGING
Award-winning author GILLIAN LYNN KATZ has written a family saga about a young woman from a dysfunctional family who travels back and forth from Johannesburg South Africa to New York in the 1960s and early 70s searching for what is her rightful place in the world.
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Goodbye South Africa
In 1966, thirteen-year-old Annabelle Bradlow is uprooted from Johannesburg and thrust into suburban New York when her father, a Jewish doctor, flees the mounting dangers of apartheid. The move promises safety, but instead delivers disorientation, isolation, and a quiet unraveling Annabelle cannot control.
As she struggles to find her footing between cultures, expectations, and a fractured home life, Annabelle searches for certainty wherever she can find it—family, faith, even reinvention. But belonging proves elusive, and the consequences of misplaced trust are devastating.
Spanning continents and coming of age against the backdrop of political and personal upheaval, Annabelle’s journey becomes a question of survival: not just where she can live, but who she can become when everything familiar has been stripped away.
Perfect for readers of
- Historical literary fiction
- Coming-of-age novels
- Stories of migration, memory, and moral reckoning
Get Your Copy of Goodbye South Africa
Experience a powerful coming-of-age story shaped by emigration, identity, and the quiet cost of history.
Whether you prefer to shop through a major retailer or support independent publishing, you can find Goodbye, South Africa at the links below.
Buy From Your Preferred Store
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meet Gillian Lynn Katz
Award Winning Poet-Writer-Teacher
Gillian Lynn Katz is an acclaimed poet whose work explores identity, displacement, family, and the quiet psychological consequences of political systems. Born in South Africa and later immigrating to the United States, Katz draws from lived experience to create fiction that is both historically grounded and emotionally fearless.
Her writing has been recognized for its lyrical prose, moral complexity, and unflinching honesty—particularly in its portrayal of women and children navigating forces beyond their control.
Katz’s novel invites readers into intimate lives shaped by history, asking not only what happens when a country breaks, but what happens to the people who leave—and to those who stay.
Get Your Copy of Goodbye South Africa
Experience a powerful coming-of-age story shaped by emigration, identity, and the quiet cost of history.
Whether you prefer to shop through a major retailer or support independent publishing, you can find Goodbye, South Africa at the links below.
Buy From Your Preferred Store
Explore More of Gillian’s Work
Gillian Lynn Katz is the author of writing that explores identity, relationships, and the emotional aftermath of life-changing moments.
Her books are known for their psychological depth, lyrical prose, and unforgettable characters—each offering a distinct story while carrying the same emotional honesty.
Witness to the Birth and Death of My Country
Portrait
What Gillian Writes About
- The inner lives of women and girls
- Political upheaval seen through personal experience
- Emigration and fractured belonging
- Moral courage—and its cost
- Memory, silence, and inherited trauma
Praised by Readers
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Gillian Lynn Katz welcomes messages from readers, book clubs, educators, media, and event organizers. Use the form below to send a message, and you’ll receive a response as soon as possible.