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Local scribe publishes a short stories book

Life Is A Matter of Choice And Other Stories book cover PIC MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Life Is A Matter of Choice And Other Stories book cover PIC MORERI SEJAKGOMO

A local scribe, Arnold Letsholo, has published his very first short stories book titled, Life Is A Matter of Choice And Other Stories.

In an interview with Arts&Culture, the freelance journalist who works for one of the local newspapers, pointed out that, in the line of his journalistic work, he interviewed the leader of Botswana Institute for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Offenders (BIRRO). He said after the interview, he was inspired to come up with the book. He said they later thought of coming up with a non-fiction book where ex-convicts would confess their experiences. “Just at point of takeoff, we thought of getting funding. We approached American Embassy for sponsorship (grant). One of the embassy's requirements was presentation (attachment) of financial report. My friends could not do this. It drowned our relationship. I had already done very few interviews, popping out my insufficient funds but had little to do with information gathered. I later opted for edified version, which turns out to be this very small book,” he said. Life Is A Matter of Choice And Other Stories was published this month at Denjebuya Graphics and Publishing. It has 10 stories (chapters) and 88 pages.

Furthermore, Letsholo said his decision to write the book came because he was worried by incidents of alcohol and drug abuse in the country. He added that he believed he could use his writing skills to contribute towards bringing change. The book is fiction, with some edited interviews from ex convicts and those who experienced hardships associated with alcohol and drug abuse. When writing the short stories, he said he was motivated by the fact that he was sharing information of national concern. He added that his target audience was upper primary school pupils and junior secondary students.

Editor's Comment
Depression is real; let's take care of our mental health

It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...

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