Author: Zak B. Tjewels
Date of birth: 13 December 1947
Website:
Zak B. Tjewels’ life has been boats: Grammar School naval cadets, sailing, designing, building... Except for hitchhiking across North Africa and ending up under house arrest in Libya, during the first revolution, Zak spent his youth sailing the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
One day in 1977, quite unprepared, he found himself in Finland for good, as it turned out. This country was a complete contrast to those far off sunny islands and, in staying here, Zak literally met his greatest trials and tribulations. The impressions of some of his experiences formed the basis of these books.
Several times, he fled to the sun; back again to Africa, once to visit a missionary in Kenya, and then later, to teach ambulance drivers to drive ambulance boats on Lake Tanganyika for SIDA.
But, Finland is a land of linguists and he stayed there for his children’s sake. This decision proved right as, unlike Zak, his children speak the Finnish official languages and also other languages fluently; a real plus in today’s world.
