From Publishers Weekly
A woman's trip to South Africa to help her ailing mother turns into a dark, intricate journey into her family's past in this thought-provoking debut novel, its story framed against both pre- and post-apartheid politics. Kate Jensen, a 40-year-old ad copywriter, is about to be promoted to creative director of her Cleveland ad agency; her personal life consists of a string of failed near-marriages that she refers to as "the three fiances." Family business comes to the fore when a letter arrives from her estranged mother in South Africa indicating that she has cancer. After some deliberation, Jensen makes the difficult trip back to Durban, only to find her mother missing. As she investigates her disappearance, a series of revealing chapters fill in Jensen's family story, describing her difficult childhood under the thumb of a paranoid woman who was eventually diagnosed as a schizophrenic. But Violet Jensen's paranoia turns out to be rooted in reality when her daughter learns that Oom Piet, the uncle her mother regarded as a dangerous enemy, may in fact have played a pivotal role in the death of Winston, the family gardener-cum-freedom fighter who died while in police custody. Kate Jensen proves to be a wry, engaging narrator, and Brasfield deftly introduces Jensen's doubts about her own mental health as her mother's mindset becomes an issue in the search for her. The South African material is equally complex and intriguing, although Brasfield comes dangerously close to turning Oom Piet into a cartoonish bogeyman in the first half of the book. There are some slow stretches that dull the impact of the final revelations about Oom Piet, but this book succeeds on enough levels to indicate a promising future for Brasfield.

From Booklist
...Part mystery, part dark family comedy, and part harsh political realism, this gripping first novel weaves together Kate's teenage story and her present midlife crisis in clear, alternating narratives that reveal how the wild atrocity of dictatorship invades the home. Emigre Brasfield gets exactly right the South African landscape from the viewpoint of a white girl in a "colonial cocoon," barely glimpsing the normal atrocity all around her. Hazel Rochman, copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.

From Kirkus Reviews
"Powerful writing...an ambitious debut."

"Nature Lessons is a striking debut. Lynette Brasfield movingly explores the weight of love between a mother and daughter and the complex legacy it leaves behind. Set against the turbulent backdrop of South Africa, the novel is both illuminating and absorbing."

-- Gail Tsukiyama, author of Dreaming Water and The Samurai's Garden

"A joy to read—a compelling story told with an uncompromising eye, refreshingly bearing none of the thumbprints of a first novel. "

-- Bret Lott, author of JEWEL

"This poignant, funny, beautifully written story…vividly evokes memories of a South Africa whose soul was saved by ordinary people who found the courage to love across all kinds of barriers."

-- Mark Mathabane, author of KAFFIR BOY, a memoir about growing up black in apartheid-era South Africa

"Wonderful...mesmerizing...a literary page-turner. Nature Lessons is on my bookshelf to stay and it is a book I will talk about feverishly to my friends as a novel they simply must possess."

-- Les Edgerton, author of Monday's Meal and The Death of Tarpons, University of North Texas Press.

“Because of the exotic location, compelling writing, and unpredictable ending, Nature Lessons will be exciting to people who have no interest in or knowledge of schizophrenia. For all those who will read this for other reasons and at the same time learn more about the reality of schizophrenia, you will be making this world a better place for all. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

-- William E. Callahan, Jr., MD, President, Orange County Psychiatric Society; Member, American Psychiatric Association, Joint Commission for Public Affairs; Board Member, California Psychiatric Association

"Set largely in South Africa, Nature Lessons conveys a marvelous feel for place: the world of the novel is lovingly and beautifully detailed, which makes it completely credible and engaging. The energy of the book never lags. The novel is full of real, complex individuals caught up in tumultuous relationships and compelling conflicts; the prose is polished and luminous. The author’s skill with textural detail makes every page a delight to read."

-- Nance Van Winckel, author of CURTAIN CREEK FARM, Persea, 2000.