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| Nairobi Author Deborah Tendo Holds Book’s 1st Anniversary |
It is not every day that authors, especially in Kenya, hold anniversary events years after their book launch, but there’s Deborah Auko Tendo. Rough Silk: Emotions Run High as Nairobi Author Deborah Tendo Holds Book’s 1st Anniversary The prolific writer held an event at the KICC where the literary community gathered to mark the first anniversary of her autobiography, “Rough Silk”. Tendo’s event was attended by several high-profile individuals, among them Millie Adhiambo, Ezekiel Mutua, Jimmy Wanjigi, and Dr Amakove Wala.Tendo had a broken childhood It was an evening filled with emotion as the author, her brother Phillip, and attendees broke down at different intervals. The memoir delves into Tendo’s painful story of growing up as a broken girl in a polygamous family where she was raised by a guardian. Her father, George Auko, struggled to provide for them, and countless times, he went missing from their lives or never showed up when they needed him. For most of their childhood, the two dressed up daily and stood at their gate, waiting for their mother to return. Tendo’s father abandoned her She returned during the first few months before the visits stopped completely, leaving the little ones wounded inside. When Tendo joined school, she joined the drama club and often worked hard to reach the national level because it assured her a free trip to Nairobi. While her colleagues revelled in the glory, Tendo viewed it as a prime opportunity to meet her father. “I wanted him to see that I had done part of the job, all that was left was for him to come to KICC and see me. He never did,” she told TUKO.co.ke. Why Tendo chose KICC She painted the painful mental image of watching her peers celebrate with their parents while she had none, save for her teachers. “One time, I performed and nobody picked me up. I had to travel back to school with the driver for the holidays as the teachers could not leave me in Nairobi,” she recalled, tears flowing down her cheeks. That explains why she chose to hold the event at KICC because, for the first time, she had people cheering for her. While Tendo simply shared her story as part of healing, it resonated with many others whose tales intertwine with hers. Tendo’s story awoke wounds For the better part of the event, most of those who rose to speak broke into tears, recounting their painful pasts. With themes around abject poverty, the HIV scourge, period poverty, post-election violence, and political fanatism, ghosts from peoples’ past roared. “I lost my mother when I was still very young, so I know what it means to not see a parent at a school event,” one of the teary attendees said. “I was a child when the post-election violence happened, and no one seemed to think about our feelings. I’ve struggled to heal from the trauma,” added another, crying profusely. “I watched my dad wither with a disease we believed was witchcraft, only to learn in adulthood that he had been HIV positive,” a third said. Mama Mpenzi the hero The hero of the evening was Mama Mpenzi, the thoughtful guardian who took in Tendo and her brother and raised them as her own children. She may have been experiencing her own issues at the time, but her dedication and kind heart saw the siblings grow into successful adults. Even at her advanced age with a frail body, she showed up for the evening and received accolades for becoming the mother Tendo never had. What was meant to be a normal book reading became an event for opening up, venting, and letting go of childhood trauma. Book had colorful launch in 2023 During the book launch in April 2023, Tendo joked that the event was a beautiful marriage of intellect and style. According to her, if the book had not been removed from the equation, the event would have turned into a colourful fashion show. She expressed her admiration for the attendees, stating that they were beautiful people and appreciated their work promoting the reading culture.
by Hillary Lisimba