A Writer Unchained: From Village to the World
I finally did it! I finally made it to the authors’ club!
When I told my parents that I was thinking of doing a book, they were elated. They were surprised but not shocked. The truth is that they have always believed in me. They knew that I was set in my ways to do exploits. But were they aware that their second son would soon be read worldwide by people of all colors, ethnicities, and persuasions? Did they know their son’s words would create a movement that would touch and heal hundreds and soon thousands and millions globally?
My tale is worth a tell, but I’m still finding words to polish and refine it. And I’m still under the Refiner’s hands. The little I have about me is this:
I was born and raised in the village — I went to a village primary school, a village high school, and almost a village university. Saying I was an ordinary young man living in ordinary circumstances is an understatement. I had a big dream to change my life and the world. I saw myself as a leader whose vision couldn’t fit into the confines of my village. I grew myself — I sought to be the best in whatever my hands found to do. The first thing I chose to do from an early age was to polish my English language, both spoken and written.
You see, learning English as a second language was a challenge. From the teachers themselves to the learning materials, I was struck by limited exposure, and the best I could do was round off my mother tongue to the nearest English word or phrase. Then, I fell in love with novels. Since the school had no library or books besides the ones recommended for the syllabus, I picked materials along the way. From my dad’s old novels to magazines to dictionaries, I endeavored to read everything and anything within my reach written in English. Well, most of the novels and magazines were romantic, if not business-centered, but I had a goal: to learn sentence construction and the flow of ideas. My efforts paid off eventually. With my good language, I started writing creative compositions and taking them to my teachers to evaluate.
Although I was at the top of our class in our final exam, it was a slightly above-average grade. Then, I started waiting for my calling letter to high school. And I waited. It never came. My dad took me to a local high school that was starting then. I was discouraged that the government couldn’t place me in any school, but I was up for the new challenge. My passion knew no bounds. My earlier commitment to developing myself beyond the confines of my village education grew even harder on me. I was an international mind trapped in the body of a village boy (pun intended). I became a member of the debate club in my freshman, and I became the secretary almost immediately. I founded a journalism club in my sophomore year, and thankfully, I had all the support I needed from the school administration.
My first job as an editor began here. After gathering newsworthy materials throughout the week from my team, I could weave them together to create stories. Sometimes, they were comical, occasionally informational, but these stories were primarily educational. This endeavor opened me up to another skill of public speaking. I became confident and embraced my strengths and weaknesses shamelessly. I even began preaching at this stage. I admittedly had my teenage crisis, which almost killed my dream, but proper guidance led me back on track.
After high school, my writing journey almost died, but reading never stopped. My focus now was the public speaking part. Most of the writing I did was for the speeches and sermons. All this was happening while in college. Given that I went to a local college in one of the remotest parts of Kenya, opportunities were limited. However, whenever I got a chance to showcase my skills, I did my best — and the best came back to me.
Toward my graduation, I rediscovered my writing passion when a friend asked me to proofread and edit his final year project paper. I did excellent work for him, and he referred me to his other friends. My passion would soon start paying my bills as requests became so many that students would pay me to check out their academic papers. This happened even after graduating — I made a career out of helping other students refine their research work. All this freed my time as I would take only as much as I could handle in a week and the remaining part I spent with family and in ministry. I am an evangelist by calling!
My client base even grew beyond Kenya, and I started assisting students from other parts of Africa, the US, the UK, and Asia.
My ministry and career were flourishing. Starting in 2021, God placed a burden on me to write a book on one of the most critical topics in Christianity — Forgiveness. I was excited, but I knew it would be a new challenge. As I would realize sooner than later, writing a book isn’t the same as writing an academic paper. You have to balance scholarly, theological, and personal elements in the book to make it worth your audience. For two years, I delved into research, personal reflections, and conversations in books and with people I felt would help bring the book project to fruition.
Two years later, Forgiveness: Love and Grace Unchained was born. I look back at the writing process with excitement, but I am more amazed by the stories I am hearing from readers of the book. The book is one big story of how forgiveness is one of the ways of healing the world that is broken and bleeding. The book inspires, encourages, and compels people to choose forgiveness over bitterness, revenge, and resentment.
On September 3, 2023, the book was launched and released to the world. Today, a few weeks later, hundreds of copies have sold both locally and internationally. The book is also on online platforms such as Amazon as an e-book and Paperback.
I am still a village boy. A village boy whose vision to impact the world has just begun. My name is Dan Kimeu, and I am a writer unchained. To the world!
