This book is much more than the story of a remarkable life that spans many cultures. It is also the inspiring story of one woman’s journey to understand and eventually heal the trauma from her childhood. And that journey went even further to include an evolving spiritual transformation that has profound insights for anyone on a spiritual path. Rarely does an autobiography cover such a depth and breadth of the human experience, and it is a testament to the author’s sincerity and commitment to understanding, growth, healing and ultimately spiritual realization. I have known Dr. Markham for over two decades and am in total admiration of her authenticity and honesty, both of which shine forth in this recounting of her amazing life and her wonderful spiritual unfolding.

Nirmala Erway
Nondual spiritual teacher and author for 28 years

Retired psychotherapist, Dr Vicky Markham, has written an autobiography which tells the story of a life that is not only interesting in terms of its variety of experiences but also remarkable in how those experiences have shaped her. The child of missionary parents, her formative years were spent in Angola and Zimbabwe at a time when those countries were convulsed by great turmoil. In her book those earlier experiences and her adult life in the United States are understood through the lens afforded by her vocation. Together, they have given her a perspective on the role played by the various emotions that arise in our lives. This perspective is very relevant and important for understanding and responding to the challenges of the times in which we find ourselves now.

Ron Johnson, MDiv. PhD
English professor for 15 years and pastor for 23 years

Dr. Vicky Markham’s book, “From an African Beginning,” is easily relatable, as many people have had early childhood experiences that result in similar limitations in their belief systems as adults. Unique to this book, besides Dr. Markham’s remarkable life story, is how she explains after each of her challenging experiences how her actions could have been different if she had not had her specific childhood programming. She discusses how those of us with the best of intentions can be misunderstood by family and friends closest to us because of our early conditioning. She shows how it can take multiple similar events, resulting in similar responses to them, to shed toxic unconscious belief systems and subsequent behavior. In this way, she sets up the reader for the grand finale at the end of the book when she discusses what she has learned by shedding her early conditioning to gain exceptional growth, freedom, and wisdom.

Kathleen Turczyn, MPH
Statistician, oil painter