Another memoir, Eggs to Lay, Chickens to Hatch is a view into his friendship as a boy with Agnes, his family’s Zulu housekeeper, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The title pays homage to Agnes, whose favourite saying when in a hurry was, “I have to rush. I have eggs to lay and chickens to hatch!” Only later does Van Wyk discover that Agnes’s favourite “let me get on with things” saying comes from a jazz piece from Louis Jordan.