Parched Earth is a contemporary fiction novel written by Tanzanian author, Elieshi Lema, and was first published on 29 December 2001 by E&D Ltd.
The story is narrated by Doreen Seko, a middle-aged Tanzanian teacher, as she attempts to navigate three separate relationships with different men and come to an understanding of what love truly is. She reflects on the decisions she’s made over her lifetime and how these have shaped her life.
The book received an honorable mention by the prestigious NOMA award committee in 2002, and they called it "perhaps the first feminist Tanzanian novel in English". The Nordic Africa Institute also described it as “a rich dose of thought-provoking and agonizing reflections on a modern African woman's negotiations of contradicting roles and expectations, and not least on 'masculinity'.”
