The Boy Who Never Gave Up
“Four months after the release of Dr Emmanuel Taban’s uplifting life story, THE BOY WHO NEVER GAVE UP, it is number 1 on the list of South African top-sellers (the list for South African authors only).
“Just to put it in context, in my 11 years in publishing I’ve never seen a book shoot to the number 1 position on any list so long after it had been published. Dare I say, it’s something of a miracle, like Dr Taban’s story.
“When we started working together, the ever hopeful and unbelievably driven Dr Taban always said, ‘Annie, the book is going to be number 1.’
“In response I would just smile and try to manage those expectations, knowing the market is under pressure and that you simply never know how a book will do. He saw the doubt on my face and joked, ‘You don’t believe me! Don’t be so cynical, just wait and see.’
“Today I can say, you were 100% right, Dr Taban, and I should’ve known not to doubt the boy who never gave up. Congratulations!”
Annie Olivier – Jonathan Ball Publishing
Emmanuel Taban was born in South Sudan to a single mother at a time of continual civil war and mass murder. In a country weighed down by poverty and corruption there was little hope that boys like him would survive through their childhoods, let alone go on to succeed as adults. Despite being imprisoned and tortured, Emmanuel was determined to make something of his life and end the cycle of poverty that his family was trapped in. He had no idea how to do that but he knew that he had to start by getting an education.
At the age of 15, with virtually no formal education, no identity papers, no money or possessions, he walked out of South Sudan in search of a better life. He had no clue what direction he should walk in or what he would find at the end of his journey. All he knew was that he couldn’t give up; he had to keep walking until something good happened.
Eighteen months later, after living on the streets in a variety of cities, being repeatedly imprisoned for not having any papers and frequently cheated and robbed, he reached South Africa and found people who would help him get the education he craved.
He was unable to make contact with his family for ten years, but in that time he became a doctor and is now one of the most highly qualified consultants in the country, with political ambitions to return to South Sudan and help future generations to follow the same path to success.
Then COVID-19 struck and Emmanuel found himself facing a very different set of challenges. He became the first pulmonologist in the world to perform a therapeutic bronchoscopy on a hypoxemic COVID-19 patient, discovering that some deaths from COVID-19 pneumonia are due to fibrinous mucus plugs and that there is an association between IgG2 subclass deficiency and COVID-19 pneumonia severity.
This is an inspiring story of hope, showing just how far you can go with nothing but hard work and determination.
A Boy Called Hippo
The shocking and inspirational memoir of a boy who survived the Rwandan genocide. When he was seven years old Hyppolite lost many members of his extended family and witnessed the murder of his beloved father.
Born in a mud hut without shoes, water or power and often hungry, he struggled after the genocide to gain an education and to learn to forgive the killers.
By the age of thirty he had graduated from university in Rwanda and worked as a journalist and radio presenter, a playwright and a theatre director.
He raised enough money to travel to England and achieved a Masters Degree in Sociology from Bristol University.
He started a Foundation for Peace in Rwanda and travelled to America to deliver a series of lectures at universities along the East Coast of America, including Harvard, using theatre to address issues of hatred and racism being transmitted from one generation to the next, looking from the perspective of a genocide survivor, who was also a sociologist and an artist, at how we influence people’s attitudes to change.
In 2019, Hyppolite became an international news item when he performed a hundred-day walk across 1,500 kilometres of Rwanda to mark the 25th anniversary of the genocide, inviting people to join him and to share their stories of peace and forgiveness.
Reviews
“I read the book in one sitting. I could not put it down. It made me laugh and it made me cry. Hyppo is an extraordinary young man who has endured tremendous tragedy – and yet found the will to forgive those who murdered his family. Goodness radiates from him – and he attracts kind and generous people like a magnet. Everyone who reads this book will be inspired with hope for the future – and will want to help others.”
Professor Emma Sky OBE, Director World Fellows Programme.
Confessions of a Ghostwriter
Ghostwriters are confidantes to the most famous people on earth, and they help give a voice to some of the most vulnerable and inspiring. They dip their toes into every corner of life, and inhabit worlds that are both shadowy and glamorous. They are the ones who write the books that top the bestseller charts.
Andrew is one of the world’s most sought-after ghosts. In this book he confesses the truth about ghosting; how it feels to be an invisible author, to be given first class tickets to travel anywhere and permission to ask whatever questions you like. Confessions of a Ghostwriter gives an unrivalled peek into private worlds that few others gain admission to.
Reviews
“He is disarmingly, charmingly frank”
Iain Finlayson The Times
“The voice bluffly clubbable …but culturally intelligent”
Mark Lawson, New Statesman
“Andrew’s social commentary on the publishing industry and the projects he’s worked on are hugely insightful for anyone with a passion for writing … a fascinating peek into the life of someone who writes for the love of writing rather than the glory of having your name in lights.”
Natalie Xenos, Culturefly
“When it comes to famous clients, he is as silent as Jeeves.”
Sinclair McKay, Daily Telegraph
“… the deals made, the professional relationships, the spontaneous and unreliable nature of the work and the wider world of commercial publishing … describing huge advances, bidding wars and readerships…”
Claire Hazelton, Times Literary Supplement
“… a ghostwriter who has led a life possibly more varied and interesting than some of those he writes memoirs for. This is fascinating stuff ... ”
LovereadingUK
Secret Child
The unforgettable and inspiring true story of a young boy born an “unfortunate” onto the rough streets of 1950s Dublin and raised as a secret child in a home for unmarried mothers.
Despite the poverty, hardship and isolation, the pride and hope of a community of women who banded together to raise their children would give this boy his chance to find his real family.
Amazon Reviews
“Brilliant, beautiful book …”
“I felt I was beside him, living it with him …excellent read.”
“The story is well told. I found it hard to put down.”
“An excellently written book and is just as though the author is speaking to the reader.”
“This is a page turner, could not put this down.”
“A touching story of a poor beginning with an inspiring end.”