Terry Angelos — Fine Artist, Wife Mother, Author White Trash
With Terry Angelos — Fine Artist, Wife Mother, Author White Trash
In short
Terry Angelos, a fine artist and author, talks through the memoir White Trash: My Year as a High-Class Call Girl — a Rhodesian bush-war childhood, emigrating to South Africa at 11, arriving in London at 19 with £80, and how curiosity and ambition slid into a year in the sex industry, then a rock bottom, faith and a slow rebuild. The one takeaway: Terry frames her descent as boiling frog syndrome — compromise after compromise rather than a single decision.
What is White Trash actually about, beyond the title?
It centres on one year in London and the build-up to and resolution of it, but ranges much wider — childhood in Rhodesia, race, social trauma and the underworld. Terry describes it as the story of a heroine, approached with an artist's eye so readers are pulled visually and emotionally into that world.
What was it like growing up during the Rhodesian bush war?
A paradox: a bubble of safety that felt idyllic, set against the backdrop of war. Adults tried to create normalcy, but much was abnormal, and the war produced constant hypervigilance — which Terry says explains why her memories are so vivid, and something many South Africans recognise.
Why does the book open with a memory of eating sadza?
Because it was her first memory and a secret — sneaking off to Maggie's room at the bottom of the garden. Cooked on a paraffin stove, with smoke in the taste, it captured a child's sense that something warm and motherly had to be hidden, revealing racism she could not yet name.
Where did things start to shift for her?
At independence, when her parents, both educators, emigrated to South Africa fearing decline. Aged 11 turning 12, she went from being the queen of the antheap in a small town to not coping in a bigger, more modern society, and her identity built on achievement began to crumble.
Why did she go to London at 19?
On a whim. Halfway through a second year of study after a year of fine art and a year of drama, still conflicted, she had a summer fling with a young man heading to London who invited her along. Maritzburg felt too small, and she went with a strange sense of destiny.
How did she end up in the sex industry?
She arrived with £80, two days to find work and one phone number, took an au pair job for food and accommodation and was dismissed within two weeks. A hostess advert appeared, framed in her mind by a family friend's glamorous 1960s cocktail-serving stories, and she stepped in — the boiling frog syndrome.
Did she feel exploited at the time?
No — she saw herself as the exploiter, not the exploited. Believing she had the power and control, she and another young woman became ambitious partners. Looking back she recognises grooming, and admits she became greedy, exploitative and a master manipulator while swimming in very dangerous waters.
What made her stop?
She could no longer separate the persona from herself, and one incident where she nearly lost her life brought it crashing down. Facing what she had become was devastating; she lost the will to live. Her path out began in London with finding faith and rebuilding self-esteem.
Was writing the book cathartic or traumatic?
Both, but ultimately liberating. Written over about three years, it surfaced shame in cycles and waves, leaving her insecure and needing validation from her husband. Writing honestly about racism was hardest. She waited until her children were young adults; husband and children were the deciding factor.
In their words
I always thought, like I suppose many of us do, that we had a normal childhood because we don't have anything to compare it to.
I think I definitely saw myself as being the one that was the exploiter, not the exploited. And that comes from quite a different angle when you feel like you have the power, you're the one in control.
You numb out, you dissociate, you take on a persona, you act a role and you kind of bury your own self.
So yes, I've done terrible things and I've made bad choices and I've messed up, but that's not all of me.
When you're curious and daring and arrogant and greedy and all of those things, those things in your personality, if you allow them full reign, can take you down a very dark path.
Key takeaways
- Terry frames her descent as boiling frog syndrome — compromise after compromise rather than a single decision.
- Believing you hold the power and control in that world is itself part of how you get pulled deeper.
- Role-play and shape-shifting let her dissociate and bury her own self, which is precisely how she went further than she intended.
- Her rebuild required going through rock bottom first: accepting the worst of herself, then rediscovering that it was not all of her.
- Traits like curiosity, daring, arrogance and greed, given free rein, can lead anyone down a dark road — she links this to South Africa's corruption stories.
- She waited until her children were young adults and had the whole family's support before publishing.
Show notes
In this episode, I chat with Terry about her book White Trash My Year As A High-Class Call Girl.
This is an incredibly raw and real account of a year in the life of the author. In my opinion, a book that took incredible bravery to write and is a must-read.
About this book:
Raised during the Rhodesian bush war and immigrating to SA at the age of 11, Terry is shaped by a white culture that is racist, unstable and deeply divided. Her childhood is bizarre as adults around her insist on living their version of normality while the world falls apart. White Trash is a remarkable memoir told with savage honesty as the narrator unravels what it means to be a white African. It's also a story about finding a shard of light amidst the depravity in a quest to reinvent the self. http://www.nb.co.za/en/view-book/?id=9781990973383 https://www.wattsinvolved.com/Frequently asked questions
Is the work mostly about sex?
Terry says people may be surprised to hear it is not. Much of it was stroking a man's ego. She understood the business logic — a visiting businessman with two days had no time to find a date and worry about calling again.
Who was the character she calls Gecko?
A slick, extremely wealthy art dealer from Texas who only wore Versace and other top designers. He took her and Sandy under his wing, warning them about what lay ahead while simultaneously using their services — a sugar daddy of sorts.
What happened when she returned to South Africa?
She lived in Rocky Street with young women in full-time ministry. With people coming and going, neighbours across the road concluded the house must be a brothel — an irony that still amuses her, and a reminder you cannot control how people view you.
How long ago did these events take place?
Terry says the London year was 32 years ago. She was 19 when she arrived and describes herself in the interview as a 52-year-old woman.
Is she writing another book?
She would like to. Everyone who has read White Trash is demanding another, feedback has been strong and her publisher calls it a little dark horse. She has ideas forming but is currently enjoying sharing the story in conversations.
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