Being Chris Hani's Daughter

A memoir

Ferguson Hani

ISBN:

9781920601812

Epub ISBN:

9781920601867

Publisher:

Melinda Ferguson Books

Date Released:

April 2017

Price (incl. VAT):

R 295.00

Format:

Soft cover, 272pp

About this book:

When Chris Hani, leader of the South African Communist Party and heir apparent to Nelson Mandela, was brutally slain in his driveway in April 1993, he left a shocked and grieving South Africa on the precipice of civil war. But to 12-year old  Lindiwe, it was the love of her life, her Daddy, who had been shockingly ripped from her life. 

In this intimate and brutally honest memoir, 36 year old Lindiwe remembers the years she shared with her loving father, and the toll that his untimely death took on the Hani family.  She lays family skeletons bare and brings to the fore her own downward spiral into cocaine and alcohol addiction, a desperate attempt to avoid the pain of his brutal parting. 

While the nation continued to revere and honour her father's legacy, for Lindiwe, being Chris Hani's daughter became an increasingly heavy burden to bear. 
"For as long as I can remember, I'd grown up feeling that I was the daughter of Chris Hani and that I was useless. My father was such a huge figure, such an icon to so many people, it felt like I could never be anything close to what he achieved - so why even try? Of course my addiction to booze and cocaine, just  made me feel my worthlessness even more."

 In a stunning turn around, she faces her demons, not just those that haunted her through her addiction, but with the courage that comes with sobriety, she comes face to face with her father's two killers - Janus Walusz, still incarcerated and Clive Derby Lewis, released in 2015 on medical parole. In a breathtaking  twist of humanity, while searching for the truth behind her father's assassination, Lindiwe Hani ultimately makes peace with herself and honours her father's gigantic spirit.

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