On Holy Pilgrimage - A Long Journey For Freedom by Rahman Oladigbolu

Paperback: 444 pages
Publisher: Oracle Publishers (September 12, 2005)
ISBN-10: 0976835401
ISBN-13: 978-0976835400





On Holy Pilgrimage - A Long Journey For Freedom is a beautiful true story about how a young man, Rahman Oladigbolu, dared to have a dream - his dream was to go to America and be a film director/maker. In the beginning, we are given beautiful vivid descriptions of Rahman's early life growing up in Nigeria, Africa. Rahman is a prince in the Yoruba tribe of the Oyo state. Due to his royal heritage and his father's prospering businesses, Rahman has a privileged lifestyle - being chauffeur driven to school and living in houses that leave his friends in awe and envy. After his mother and father separate, Rahman goes to live in another Nigerian state to live under the care of his maternal grandparents. He begins to see them as his parents and we are moved by the incredible love that Rahman has for his grandmother. The descriptions of Rahman's early school life are incredibly amusing particularly the incident where all the children of the town swarm to Rahman's house just to hear him speak some English - which they can neither speak nor understand. What the children do not realise is that Rahman himself is terrible at the language (at the time), but they are none the wiser!

The story moves on with Rahman's increased desire to become a filmmaker. A relative who studied filmmaking, in America, in the 1970's, inspires him. It is from this relative that Rahman gets to see a written screenplay for the very first time. After finishing his high school exams with top grades, he opts out of going to a Nigerian University to study for a higher degree as his plans obviously lie elsewhere. He contacts an uncle, living in America, for assistance to realise his dream however, his first hurdle is obtaining an American Visa, which he has heard is extremely hard to get. We watch Rahman as he goes through an agonising journey of trying to get the `golden' American Visa. He tries all avenues to get this American Visa, both crooked and straight, but all roads lead to nowhere. In the height of disappointment, we are marvelled by Rahman's unwavering faith and determination to realise his dream. Then comes the climax of his struggles, which sidetrack and delay his plans to travel to America. He develops a mysterious disease that cripples him both mentally and physically. The very long and descriptive account of his ordeal is almost unbearable to read and your heart cannot help but to bleed for him. It is unclear as to the cause of his illness i.e. whether his illness has a scientific explanation or his illness is as the result of witchcraft. The author goes into a lengthy discussion about this. However, whether the reason is scientific or witchcraft, the truth is that Rahman's agony, pain, and struggles are real and he needs a way out.

A glimmer of hope seems to appear in the midst of it all - he meets a beautiful girl called Nike. Rahman falls for her deeply and it seems that she is the compensation for all the `hell' that he has been through. Unfortunately, Nike betrays him with one of his best friend's. Rahman is heartbroken and we are left exhausted wondering whether the madness will end. However, through the loss of the love of his life Rahman gains a valuable revelation regarding the meaning of love. Through much deliberation, he realises that he did not actually love Nike - he used her to fill the vacuum of his life that was caused by the disappointments. He comes to a powerful realisation that the best love is when two independent people who are content with who they are, offer each other security, trust and understanding. The ability to offer this, Rahman says, stems from an understanding and trust of oneself. Rahman teaches us that true love suffers long and it casts out any trace of fear. His religion, which from his descriptions seems to be predominantly Islamic, provides a source of comfort and strength throughout his ordeal. He comes to believe that only God can save him from the darkness he has found himself in. He knows that God will be the light that will eradicate the darkness. He remembers his grandfather once saying to him -"You will win by the grace of God." Close to the end of the book, the author says that he has found a better faith. His faith is - 'the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want'. From this we realise that Rahman is transitioning from religion to relationship i.e. a relationship with the Lord. We wonder whether the Lord he refers to is Jesus Christ of the Christian faith, who is the Good Shepherd.

At the end of Rahman's journey, we are elated as Rahman finally realises his dream and manages to contain his health struggles. He injects us with a syringe full of faith to believe that all is well and that he is well. Through a series of agonising (some humiliating) events, he eventually crosses the seas to America. He has realised his dream. He has arrived at Freedom. A freedom which has come at a high price. The price is almost ten agonising long years of waiting, pain, ill health and the loss of people that he loves dearly. However, at the end of this Long Journey we realise that Freedom was not obtained just by entering America to pursue his goal of being a film maker - no! True freedom is coming to the knowledge of who you are and what your calling is. Rahman Oladigbolu experienced this true freedom. That is what he fought for - "You will win by the grace of God". He experienced the realisation of his calling and role in this our world that `God created out of his love for stories' (Ellie Wiesel). It took great adversity and great pain but the result, I am sure he would agree, is beautiful. Rahman Oladigbolu is presented as an intelligent, kind, very determined, compassionate, and incredible individual whose name we will continue to see `shining in lights' in the world of creativity in the years to come. This is not just a story about the Nigerian experience on the road to live in America but it is a human story. This is a true story of love, strength, pain and the audacity of faith. A must read for all dreamers - those who dare to believe that their dream can, and will come true. !!!

The Endless Trail by Sarudzayi Elizabeth Chifamba-Barnes

• Paperback: 196 pages


• Publisher: AuthorHouse (13 Mar 2008)


• Language English


• ISBN-10: 1434375153


• ISBN-13: 978-1434375155


• Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 12.2 x 1.3 cm

Our attention is captured immediately by the attractive cover design. A woman is seen sitting on the ground. She has her back to us and we can sense that she is in distress - she is sad. The ground that she sits on is a pathway that leads off somewhere into the distance - we wonder if that is the Endless trail. Overlooking the woman is the face of a man, almost looking remorseful. Already the excitement wells inside you to find out who the woman is, what happened to her, why does she seem sad and what has the man got to do with it !

A young, hardworking couple from the remote, rural Mpatsi Village in Zimbabwe, decide to sell their prized possession - a cow. The money from the sale is to be used to send their daughter Jenny to one of the best boarding schools in the country. It is out of the norm and general custom to send a girl child to school however, Jenny's parents are adamant that they want the best for their daughter. They want to one day see her rise up and out of the poverty and hard life they have experienced. The young Jenny is presented as a shy and timid young girl that is regularly picked on at school. Girls at school gang up on her and make fun of her rural background. She does not have the clothes, money or the social status of the other girls therefore she quickly finds herself isolated. This forces her to be buried in her studies. She works hard mainly to find something that will make her "better" than her peers. Despite the isolation she eventually makes friends with another student Letwin who she manages to find some common ground with.

With one year left of her education, her father, the main bread winner, dies. Her education is threatened and jealous relatives threaten to take her out of school as they feel that the tuition is too expensive. Her mother is driven away from her home by unreasonable relatives and her siblings are scattered from one family to the next. What seemed like a bright future of education and social climbing is obviously falling apart. However, a miracle happens and the nuns at her high school offer to sponsor the remainder of Jenny's education. There is a sense of relief for the protagonist as we see her finish her education and, later, her higher education. Her goal is to look after her mother and her siblings. She marries her college sweet heart Edwin. They have three children together and life seems to be going as planned.

Unfortunate circumstances strike again and Jenny finds out that her mother has full blown AIDS which she contracted from her husband - Jenny's father. When her mother dies she is distraught but resolves that her mother and father contracted AIDS due to their' lack of Education'. The older Jenny is presented as a woman who is proud of her achievements and looks down on those who are 'not educated'. Her focus seems to be on social status and achieving the next thing. Whilst working hard, her relationship with her husband unexpectedly turns sour as he has an affair with their domestic worker and leaves her.

With the economic hardships in Zimbabwe and no hope of salvaging her relationship, Jenny decides to move to the UK to earn more money and hence improve her social status. She moves without any legal documents to live or work in the UK. It is when she moves over that her husband dies. He has died from HIV and AIDS. Jenny is then advised to take an HIV test. She finds it ridiculous as her notion is that HIV infection is for the uneducated and after all she had been separated from her husband for a while. After much persuasion from friends Jenny has the test done. She is suddenly brought down to earth and humiliation when she finds out that she too is infected - infected by Edwin. The story then goes on a sometimes exhausting trail of Jenny finding out about the HIV status of every person that she knows including her old school friend Letwin. Even one of her children is HIV infected. Then in a mad twist another child of hers gets HIV infected after being raped by their HIV infected gardener. We soon learn that the story is an Endless trail of HIV infection.

At the close of the story we see Jenny trying to come to terms with her condition with health regimes and medication. She makes plans to return to Zimbabwe to look after her children. Her goal is to run education workshops to support people with HIV and to educate people about the condition. She comes to terms with the reality that she was in fact 'the uneducated one'. Her work in Zimbabwe, she hopes, will help the Endless Trail to come to an end.

This is a good fictional resource for HIV education workshops in Zimbabwe. A wonderful fiction novel for Zimbabweans in the diaspora and people of all cultures that enjoy a good story.

The Laws of Thinking - 20 Secrets to Using the Divine Power of Your mind to Manifest Prosperity by Bishop E. Bernard Jordan

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Hay House (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401917968
• ISBN-13: 978-1401917968

There are many statements that people have found offending in the book such as Therapist means THE RAPIST, or 'There are no poor people in America' My assumption is that these are statements that Bishop Jordan has made by looking at life from a certain perspective and his statements have possibly been over generalised and taken out of context. Not all therapist's are shrinks which is the meaning that Bishop Jordan is using to derive his conclusion that all therapists are rapists. Some Therapists such as Occupational, Speech and Physiotherapist's actually tell you like Jesus - to pick up your mat and walk. However, don't let these statements put you off.
The Laws of thinking, i believe, are not necessarily secrets, but they are principles that one may have learnt along the road of life but has just not been practising them. In his book we have Laws such as the Law of Becoming, the Law of Predestination, the Law of Faith, The Law of Money, The Law of Writing and so forth.

Bishop Jordan comes to remind us and then kick us in the rear -into action. All of Bishop Jordan's principles are principles that Jesus Christ himself taught. Jesus Christ summed up by telling us that the source of true prosperity is to Love God with all that we are, love our neighbour like ourselves and be a servant to all . But he also explained that we can only do this with God's help.
Therefore, lasting prosperity comes from being in God. This Bishop Jordan explains in the first law of his book called the Law of Becoming. So, fellowshipping with God and studying His word leads to true wisdom, prosperity and renewal of your mind. Bishop Jordan lays out what the Lord has already taught in 20 laws. No book is a substitute for the word of God, however, Bishop Jordan's book is a good reminder to us that we need to renew the way we think. This book is a must read and an excellent resource for your reference library.