Author: Kally-Jay Mkwawa
Release Date: 24th June 2018
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Series:
Edition: e-book
Pages: 50
Publisher: –
Blurb:
Spending the better part of your life being called a good listener, a weirdo, a hermit or a ‘mirror of ugly truths’ and a walking-talking memory machine isn’t at all what it’s cut out to be. To a large extent, it’s a lonely life. You arrive into this life without even meaning to and suddenly it seems that you carry the weight of the whole world on your shoulders. You get sucked into it quite easily and coming up for a breath of fresh air is not easy at all.
This is an account that will give the reader, an idea of what Isidora has encountered in this beautiful, yet twisted and noisy place called the world. It’s not a long story with a happy ending (at least not so far). Rather, it’s about the reasons for her tears, worries, the unending voices in her head and the blows that life threw at her. It’s also about those precious moments of sheer joy and last, but certainly not least, her encounter with Him. Hopefully, sharing her story will find others who can relate to it and make them feel they’re not alone. Writing this work has been like an ‘extension’ of herself whilst overcoming her fear of hurting people or being compelled to ‘walk on eggshells’. It’s one of her legacies and as always, has been her type of therapy. May it be a type of therapy or an inspiration for you too.

Review

★★★

Isidora: The Life, Mind and Memories of an African Phoenix by Kally-Jay Mkwawa is a memoir full of interesting experiences of the author.

I liked the book as it was an easy and a quick read. It was a deeply contemplative read and some of the introspections of the author were interesting and presented an illuminating glimpse into her fascinating world. The cultural, environmental as well as emotional insights provided in the book were quite enjoyable.

My only complaint is that the first 7 chapters of the book focused solely on guys the author encountered in her life. As a writer and an editor, I feel that it didn’t serve as the right hook (or to be precise, the right first half of the book.) Being a memoir, I understand the book needs to deal with all the major aspects of the author’s life, but it would have been better if those chapters were placed in the latter half of the book, making the first half more about her than about those guys.

Other than this issue, it was a good read. and I’d recommend it to non-fiction reads.

this review is also posted on Goodreads and Amazon