In her memoir, Beulah ‘Guess’ Smith-Coombs chronicles her early childhood in 1950s rural Jamaica, narrating her upbringing and student years in ‘swinging 60s’ England and the decades beyond.
Beulah was born in Kellits, Clarendon, Jamaica and this was where she spent her early childhood years until 1957, before arriving in Manchester, England, aged 8 years.
Diary entries pulled together in her first draft manuscript in1973, retains the immediacy of the narrative as it unfolded at the time.
‘Guess’ is an inspiring read portraying Jamaica’s rich cultural heritage which informed
Beulah’s character from an early age. The book also lays bare the challenges faced by her parents’ generation and witnesses a number of events which during the 60s and 70s, marked the lives of many young black people in similar situations. The book seamlessly meshes local, national and world history to contextualise an individual’s life. Beulah’s tale about navigating adversity as well as celebrating successes - the first graduate in her family; one of Britain’s few Black teachers in the 1970s; a College Lecturer and senior manager - is compelling.
‘Guess’ movingly documents the story of a generation and in doing so, Beulah creates an illuminating and important piece of social and cultural history.