Nathalie M'Dela-Mounier lives in Brittany, France, were she has been a teacher and librarian for 20 years. She taught also in Côte d'Ivoire and elsewhere. Looking "white" and perceived as such by others, she is however attached to her condition of a woman of mixed origin, both culturally and genetically. Like millions of people of varied complexions, she considers herself a child of the encounter of the white trader with that mythical, yet very real ancestor, who was uprooted from Africa and sold as a slave in America. Short of being able to put a face or a name to the individuals who are her ancestors, she belives in the power of the word and collective memory in order to transmit historical truth to forthcoming generations.