Open Turns: A Story of Resilience, Resistance & Reinvention
On this episode of Big Blend Radio, award-winning author Hendrika de Vries discusses her moving and reflective new memoir, “Open Turns” (She Writes Press, September 2, 2025).
From surviving Nazi-occupied Amsterdam as a child to navigating immigration and competitive swimming in 1950s Australia, Hendrika shares her remarkable coming-of-age story of survival, strength, and self-discovery. As a teenager determined to shape her own identity in a world that tried to confine her, she dives—again and again—into life’s open turns with courage and clarity.
Through vivid storytelling and thoughtful…
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