BY PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI
EMERGING author and professional marketer Audrey Chirenje on Friday night launched her debut novel, Life Will Humble You, at a colourful and oversubscribed ceremony held at Alliance Francaise in Harare.
The first copy was auctioned for US$100.
Chirenje told the gathering that she wrote the book in July last year and has already completed its sequel, while the third was on its way.
She said the development was important to her as it was a confirmation of her uniqueness, which has helped her understand that she was different from everyone else.
“Everyone has a dream, a gift, which is very unique,” she said. “The problem is that people will tell you that you are different. But you must embrace your uniqueness.”
She expressed gratitude to two friends who she said sowed into her dream by financing the printing of the book.
Chirenje said the novel was centred on a flawed protagonist — a pastor’s son — whose character confirms that “we have issues, a past, a history… You can fall seven times and ride again”.
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Speaking at the launch, the author’s sister, Tarisai Chirenje-Chiyaka, told the gathering that Chirenje’s decision to publish was a revelation to her and their other sisters because they had not known her as a writer.
She however said the book, which she read in a few hours, moved her deeply.
“We did not know that aspect of her. It has brought so much inspiration to the four cousins. It resonates with the inner person,” she said.
Mark Chirenje, brother to the author, said writing a book was not easy as it took a lot of work, discipline and commitment and literally wiped away the author’s social life.
