Maxwell Mkoki wrote Behind You, Dad as a kind of extended letter to his son. Photos / supplied
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In Book Takes, authors share three things that readers will gain from their books as well as giving an insight into what they learnt during the researching and writing. This weekend, Maxwell Mkoki talks about Behind You, Dad.
Born in Zimbabwe and resident in New Zealand since 2005, Maxwell Mkoki wrote Behind You, Dad as a kind of extended letter to his son based on conversations the two had. It has been compared with the US bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.
“The inspiration to write the book was a desire to build relationships between parents and their children, to share my experiences as a father and as an immigrant…”
Once Mkoki finished the draft manuscript, the fulltime global studies student headed home to Zimbabwe to spend time with his own father in Shurugwi, a rural town about 350km south of the capital Harare. He told NZ Booklovers that spending time listening to his dad talk about family history was a reversal of his life in NZ.
Here, Mkori shares three things readers will discover from Behind You, Dad, as well as something he learned in writing it.
More than a conversation between father and son
The reader will discover practical tips that are easy to apply to various life challenges, and management tools that are also useful in work settings. The book is more than just a conversation between a father and his son. It has many themes presented in a way that elicits the reader to reflect on their life, sometimes soliciting a second or third read on the same pages.
As one reader said, ‘What I have found out reading the book is that you cannot just rush through the pages, I find myself not wanting to move from a certain page because of the wholesomeness of the content written there.’
I have received similar comments to that which I think I should let the reader know beforehand. The book cannot be finished overnight or in a couple of days, but it will be worth it when one completes reading. Another person commented, ‘There is an openness that pushes or encourages one to dive deep into their life and learn more about themselves.’ Based on these comments, there is more discovery in the pages than already said.