IUPUC faculty member Larita Killian, Ed.D., recently released her book Zimbabwe Bound.

The 180-page book was published by the University of Indianapolis Press.

Zimbabwe Bound chronicles the journey of Anna Mackenzie, from her childhood in the U.S., her long-distance romance with South African Kenneth Mackenzie, and finally her struggle to forge a new home in colonial Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

“I met Almeda Fribley in the small town of Bourbon, Indiana where Anna was born and raised.  Almeda told me about Anna’s amazing life, and then she told me her basement trunk was full of letters from Africa,” Killian said. “She offered to give me the letters if I would write Anna’s story.”

The trunk contained more than 200 letters dating from 1929 to 1960, written by Anna and missionary friends.

“Writing the book gave me a window into some incredible history. First-person accounts of orphan trains and homesteading on the Rhodesian veldt. The intricate negotiations between Anna and indigenous Africans. Missionary letters describing the burial of tribal chiefs,” Killian said.

According to one reviewer, “Killian has done her research, and we're rewarded with a vibrant, poignant history told through one family's experience.”

Killian is an assistant professor of accounting for the IUPUC Division of Business.