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Dennis Chimanzi Arts Correspondent
China-based Zimbabwean author Dr Mejury Chipato has chronicled her life journey in a new book entitled “I am in Charge of My Narrative”, which she said was inspired by her ghetto life.
Chipato who is a medical doctor by profession launched the book recently via virtual platforms and revealed in an interview that people should tell their story not to wait for others to do on their behalf.
The Zimbabwean Achievers’ award winner, grew up in Mbare and said she misses the lifestyle.
“My desire was to put pen to paper in an attempt to record the storied lessons of my journey so as to help inspire and uplift other people,” she said.
“I wanted to be the source of motivation and strength to people who might be going through their own version of Mbare (limitations and obstacles) just to encourage them to never give up and to take charge of their narratives.
“The story of my journey is not less or more important than that of anybody else; it is simply the best source of data I have in a context where generalisations inevitably fail but truth is found in the details.”
Chipato said she chose to write the book because she felt a sense of obligation to extract some of the meaningful lessons from her journey.
“I wanted to alert people about their purpose in life. It is not impossible.
“I am a holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and currently pursuing my Masters in Microbiology, which l had put on hold when l enrolled into Medical School. I was born in the rural areas, in Gutu, Masvingo but my hometown is in Zaka, Masvingo,” she added.
“I grew up and studied in Mbare. Besides writing I run businesses (fashion industry), including MJ Fashions. Last year I was voted Fashion Designer of the Year 2021 (China Edition), moreover l am the founder of Patience of Hope Foundation, a non-profit charity organisation which l founded in 2019, whose aim is to pay school fees for underprivileged children and to empower young girls.”
Explaining further on the inspiration, she said; “I wrote this book because of the journey I had to go through; the journey I am still on. A journey with (multifaceted)aspects people can (hopefully) relate to. I want to encourage someone going through a hard time and give them (the gift of) hope.
“I want to employ the specificity and nuance of my own life narrative to give context and motivate people who have experienced similar hardship by serving as a grounded and relatable point of reference.
“I grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe in a ghetto community called Mbare. There is a popular saying associated with Mbare: Nothing good can ever come out of Mbare.
“Very few people coming from my community have made it as this place is highly associated with drugs, crime and social ills. In many ways, the aforementioned statement has proved to be a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts and every negative thing associated with Mbare has only served to further reinforce this stereotype.”
She said the book was published at AtCumbre Publishers and is available in Zimbabwe, China, Zambia, South Africa and on Amazon.
The talented author described her challenges as unique while writing the book.
“I think one of the greatest challenges has been deciding what to share and highlight from my story because there are so many lessons embedded in so many stories that I had a hard time deciding what to focus on for this particular stage of my authoring journey,” she said.
“Another challenge was the inability to travel to Zimbabwe to facilitate a physical launch of my book owing to the lockdown and it’s accompanying restrictions. This book holds a special place in my heart and it was my hope to get to launch it at home as a way of introducing my story to the world in the place where it all began; the country that offered me the chance to live out my story — the one place on earth where my story was possible.”
Online Reporter