The Chameleon by David Farrell

The Chameleon by David Farrell

The Chameleon is the tale of Rorke Wilde, who grows up in Rhodesia. Rorke's need to mimic his pet chameleon, if he is to survive the racial discourse in a country divided by apartheid during the 1970s.

Rorke's father works in the British South Africa Police while his mother is a clerk in the tax office. His best friend and father figure is the family's domestic worker, Themba Dube, an AmaNdebele of Zulu descent. Whom guides Rorke through the turmoil of civil bias.

Themba introduces Rorke to his nephew Lucky Ndlovu, who lost his parents in the AIDS pandemic and who lives with his grandmother in a squatter camp (informal settlements) in Johannesburg.

The old man and boy share their experiences of a life of poverty post-independence where Rorke learns about the real Africa that he once saw through Panglossian glasses.

A fictional biography that challenges the norms of history. Of apartheid, colonialism, heartbreak, love, and compassion.

Many, if not all of us, have experienced the good and bad in the worldwide diaspora because of politics, greed, and opportunity.

David Farrell, M.S.W., L.N.H.A., works for a private nursing home management organization in California as the Director of Organizational Development and Regional Director of Operations. He has 25 years of experience as a licensed nursing facility administrator in the long-term care industry. Farrell has demonstrated the commercial case for fostering a healthy work environment and put research about good leadership into daily practice as a nationally recognized leader in quality improvement and culture change. He has given motivational talks to long-term care leaders at state conferences and corporate training events in nearly every state. He is a published author and former board member of the Pioneer Network. He was a leader in the National Nursing Home Quality Initiative while working for state Quality Improvement Organizations.

Farrell was also a member of the faculty for the national Enhancing Nursing Home Culture initiative, which brought together QIOs and national nursing home businesses from 21 states. He has provided quality improvement and cultural change advice to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.