Born in Mangula, Zimbabwe, she is a full-time practising neurosurgeon, and has initiated neurosurgery programs in several institutions in Delaware, Ohio and Oregon.
She has travelled, been educated and lived in many countries, including Jamaica, the United States, Canada and Wales.
She has served on the board of directors of several organisations, including The Rotary Foundation, the Ross Ragland Theater and the South North Development Institute.
She worked with the Synergos Institute as a consultant and program coordinator and was instrumental in forming community investment funds southern Africa.
As described by Penelope Lively in a 1996 New York Times review: "A Zimbabwean mother writes to her daughter, Zenzele, a Harvard student, telling the story of her life and thus reflecting the upheavals of her country and indeed her continent over the last 30 years or so.