Under The Red Blanket Published Today
Online, October 3, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Under The Red Blanket is an inspiring memoir of one family's extraordinary resilience and passion for life and adventure in the 1930s, 40s and 50s
In her memoir, Under The Red Blanket, BEA ANDERSON SWEDIEN, (wife of legendary music engineer/producer, Bruce Swedien) tells the story of a Swedish-American family living among headhunting tribes in North East India during the British Raj. The book is an intimate account of the Andersons' lives and their relationship with the Nagas (a composite of 18 tribes). It is filled with evocative anecdotes and family photographs illustrating the love and brutality of life in the remote jungles of Nagaland. Bea writes "This book is the story of our lives among the Nagas, whom I still consider to be my family and their hills to be my home."
It begins with Bea's father, Bengt Anderson, immigrating to the United States from Sweden where he met and married Edna Anderson. Soon after, they moved to India to work as Baptist missionaries, where they lived from 1926 to 1954, returning to the United States every seven years on furlough. The memoir relates her family's trials and tribulations and includes stories of life under British colonialism, World War II including the Japanese invasion into India. It also describes the horrors witnessed during the separation of India and Pakistan in 1947. Bea left India in 1950 but returned with her daughter, Roberta, and sister, Audrey in 1997. They travelled to the mission station Impur, home to the tribe of the Aos, where she was welcomed back by its people with open arms. From Roberta's account of her mother's return to India: "She stood alone on a platform in front of thousands of Nagas and in their native tongue, with great flourish and gesture, shouted, "Welcome, Ao Nagas, to the celebration!" She was home." They may be planning another trip to India in the near future.
BEA ANDERSON SWEDIEN'S BIOGRAPHY
Beatrice Anderson Swedien was born in the US to Swedish parents, Bengt and Edna Anderson, on 11th November 1934. She is the youngest of five siblings. Living in the remote jungles of Nagaland, on the border of Burma, Bea was home schooled until she was 12 years old at which time she was sent to boarding school in Mussoorie, which is located in the foothills of the Himalayas.
In 1950 Bea returned to the United States and in 1953 she married Bruce Swedien, now a 5-time Grammy award winning music engineer/producer. With their three children, the young couple moved to Chicago in 1957, where Bruce worked for RCA and Universal studios, recording the likes of Oscar Peterson, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington, Buddy Miles and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1976 they moved to Los Angeles and while working with Quincy Jones on the movie "The Wiz", Bruce and Bea met Michael Jackson and a long personal and professional relationship followed with projects such as "Off the Wall", "Thriller", "Bad", "HIStory" and "Invincible". Other artists he worked with have included Sergio Mendes, Jennifer Lopez, George Benson, Mick Jagger and Lena Horne. Early on, Bruce made it a habit to include Bea in the studio. Loved by all for her warm smile and fun-loving personality, she was always an important presence at these legendary recording sessions. The Swediens now live and work in Ocala, Florida.
If you would like more information about this book or would like to arrange an interview with Bea Anderson Swedien please call Chloe Gold on, 0203 583 7943/07540 657 073 or email Chloe at chloe@thenewdirectioncoach.com