The Great Snake Doctor

About the Book

About the Author

Teresa Rantao Ogle was born in South Africa just a year before the horrid apartheid system was solidified in the South African government. Teresa, her family and thousands of other black South Africans were forced to vacate their homes to make room for white South Africans in accordance with the apartheid rule. In the early sixties, the apartheid purging became very unbearable for Teresa’s family to tolerate. They fled to Botswana, the neighboring country. In 1967, Teresa entered the regional pageant and won it. A few months later she had to compete for the national title and won it in flying colors. In 1968 she went to the Teacher Training College. She graduated in 1970. She taught in elementary schools in Botswana for two years. In 1971 she married a Peace Corp volunteer named James W. Ogle and immigrated to the U.S. in 1972. She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and earned a BA in Sociology in 1980. She then attended the College of Santa Fe and received a teaching certificate. She taught Social Studies in high school and eventually taught in elementary school until she retired in 2005. Teresa has two marvelous children, Mark and Alina.