Author(s): Toby Molenaar

Biography & Memoir

Explore the world through the eyes of a female photojournalist in this "always absorbing" memoir--includes photos (Publishers Weekly)

The story of a survivor, an explorer, and a truly independent spirit, Toby Molenaar's extraordinary life is an inspiring tale to be savored. Orphaned in Holland during World War II, her first lesson was survival, and the life she led is a tribute to her fierce determination.

Marrying in Switzerland after the war, the author's family life crumbles a few years later when she meets her second husband, Fred Grunfeld, a foreign correspondent for such publications as Time and Life. Accompanying her husband on his foreign assignments, Molenaar visits such far-flung destinations as South America, Asia, and Alaska. She soon becomes a photojournalist herself, and when her second marriage also fails, she accepts international assignments of her own.

But Molenaar's romantic fate will include yet another chapter, and another child, this time in France. Here, she invites readers into her life through the ravages of war, the joy of motherhood, and a career documenting the world. Rich with travel details and the author's reflections on artistic expression and the role of the mother, "at the book's core is Molenaar's curiosity and learning about this wide world" (Publishers Weekly).