About Nancy

Nancy Henderson-James was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1945, but soon moved to Portugal with her parents to learn Portuguese, in preparation for a life in Angola, which was then a Portuguese colony. She lived in Angola until she was sixteen, except for a high school stint in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. When the Angola war for independence broke out in 1961, she left Africa to finish high school in Tacoma. She graduated from Carleton College and later received her library science degree from Pratt Institute. She worked in school libraries for 30 years.

Nancy, sister Kathy, and village woman near Chissamba, 1949

Nancy, sister Kathy, and village woman near Chissamba, 1949

Henderson-James published At Home Abroad: An American Girl in Africa in 2009 and All My Parents: Seeking a Sense of Self in Family in 2020. Her essays have appeared in two anthologies: Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global and Writing Out of Limbo: International Childhoods, Global Nomads and Third Culture Kids. She has received honors from the Southern Women Writers Conference, and At Home Abroad received the Reviewers Choice Award from Reader Views. She and her husband live in a cohousing community in downtown Durham, North Carolina.

 

 

“All My Parents” Photos

All My Parents

See the full set of photos

Nancy Henderson-James

 

Umbundu Proverb

Cimbapo copeka, cokutima ca tila.
É mais fácil largar o que está na mão do que o do coração.

It is easier to let go what is in the hand than what is in the heart.