My book, which is titled "Lost Inheritance", is a family bio spanning 5 generations dating back to the middle of the 18th century. It begins with the founding of the Khumalo kingdom of Matabeleland, followed by the colonization of Rhodesia, the unilateral declaration of Independence by the Smith Regime, the struggle for national independence, the creation of the new state of Zimbabwe and the subsequent economic collapse.
The book also gives a detailed account of the Holl family who were engravers in England during the reign of Queen Victoria as well as the life of Harry Patrick Holl, my grandfather who left England to settle first in South Africa and later, in Rhodesia during the first Matabele Rebellion. He later became a very successful wheat farmer in the Bulawayo farming area.
Apart from giving a historical account of events beginning with the arrival of the white man and leading to the final collapse of Zimbabwe, the book depicts a tragic story about the suffering and struggles of 4 biracial siblings, i.e. my father and his three sisters, early in the twentieth century, and the subsequent suffering and struggle endured by myself and my three siblings.
My name is Obert. I was born in Rhodesia in the mid 1940's - 4 months after the end of the Second World War.
I am a person who has lived an extraordinary and difficult life amid a hostile environment.
My parents, and I and my 3 siblings suffered under the heavy yoke of colonialism.
My father suffered because of lack of education to the extent that he even lost the little that his father had set aside as his inheritance to the black people through greed.
I also suffered greatly growing up in Rhodesia where I was denied equal opportunity for schools, jobs, promotions, even under the new government of African Majority Rule. In one instance, during the colonial period, after I had left school, I recall that I was not selected for Police Training, despite my passing an entrance exam with a higher mark than some of the white recruits who got recruited because they were white.
Despite these setbacks I managed to rise to the position of Senior Administrative Officer in the Ministry of Defence in the Colonial regime and to the position of Corporate Secretary in the Mugabe regime.
I even went further by being the first non-white to own and run a successful accounting firm in Harare despite the fact that the economy was dominated by white people during that period.
The book has great potential and a good story line. The book has what it takes to make a great movie or TV series on such platforms as NETFLIX, HBO, etc.
Lost Inheritance is a story of triumph over formidable and devastating odds which will bring tears to your eyes. I recommend that you grab a copy of this book as I truly believe that everyone should read this profound story.
The book was published by IngramSpark on 8 December, 2021. It is available on several platforms including Amazon, Barnes and Noble as well as some bookstores.