Well the contract is finally in place so I can formally announce that I’ve been commissioned by Lion Hudson (Monarch imprint) to co-write the autobiography of Yookie Budia, a former child soldier from the Congo. The book will be called Child of War. Yookie’s story is an incredible but harrowing tale of a journey from war to personal peace. As a young boy, Yookie was forced to participate in a series of atrocities and witnessed the murder of his own family. He managed to escape and after a treacherous journey through sub-Saharan Africa made his way to Durban, South Africa, where more dangers faced him as a child on the streets. If you want to know what happened to Yookie after that and how he met his wife Sarah and how they now run a charity called Hope2thehopeless then you’ll have to read the book! Yookie and I are working on it over the summer and it will come out early next year.
Simultaneously, Craig Gailbraith from Drawbridge Productions in Cape Town, is making a film about Yookie’s incredible journey. I’m sure it will be a box office hit!
If you would like to develop your own skills in writing life stories as well as other non-fiction writing, why not work through the Crafty Writer’s free non-fiction course
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Congratulations, Fiona. Sounds like it will be an intense book!
Thanks Chris. Intense, yes, but it has a happy ending 🙂
Sounds good. All the best with writing it.
Thanks for the free writing courses, by the way. I’ve been reading through some of the material, and it’s very helpful.
You’re welcome.
Readers should note that the Child of War book has been cancelled and I am no longer (by choice) involved in the project.