There was always an outside chance that Nonkululeko Gobodo would go for broke, scouting around for big names in ghost-writing and editing, but when it came to the crunch, she plucked up the courage and wrote the book herself.
At the age of 60, Nonkululeko Gobodo, with no prior experience, decided to launch her writing career.
Granted, her life story is well-documented, although it’s always been with the help of third parties, members of the fourth estate, and what have you.
The elder stateswoman of business is completely in charge of her narrative in Awakened … to my true self, her inaugural title published by Mpumelelo Ventures. The book is a tour de force account of her life story as an impressionable girl growing up in Mthatha, Eastern Cape. It also traces milestones in business, not least in relation to the accounting trade. Beyond that, it’s also a towering source of history.
Nonkululeko is the founder member and former chairman of SizweNtsalubaGobodo, now SNG Grant Thornton. As SNG, the firm became the fifth largest in South Africa. Truly one for the books, the merger has been hailed for changing the landscape of the accounting profession.
As a side note, the book is not a guide on executing mergers. Granted, Nonkululeko bears her soul, dedicating a little over 30 pages to the subject, but the book shouldn’t be considered a primer for mergers. Neither is it a manual for business or running a practice.
In many ways, it’s a link to the work she’s been doing at Awakened Global, a movement that seeks to see true liberation against racism and prejudice for the disadvantaged, particularly women and black people (see chapter 10 on racism and prejudice).
‘I see this as a movement. I’ve always burned with real fire for issues around race and gender. The idea is to bring people to an understanding that they can deal with their limiting beliefs,’ she says.
Self-effacing Nonkululeko writes in the first person, looking at deep-seated issues of racism, prejudice against women, discrimination, and mental brokenness.
The press release on Awakened … to my true self states that it is a reflective celebration of self, courage, and the remarkable spirit of resilience that lies within us all. As a writer, Nonkululeko succeeds in recalling her journey of trauma, healing, and self-love that has awakened her to her true purpose. Beyond that, she also posits on the dreaded subject of economic transformation.
An inspiring read for those who dare.
