Short story anthology that digs deep into our emotions
Larry Liza, author of "Monday Motivations Profound". PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- It is a series of 52 short stories, all of them based on the real life experiences of people that have opened their hearts to Liza.
- Some were just out to tell a good story. Some have something grand to say about life.
- Some, however, are ends unto themselves.
Stories make the world go around. Even when one is left with nothing else to share, one can still share their story, for in stories is to be found wisdom, wealth and even in the darkest hour, hope. This is the impression one comes away with after reading Larry Liza’s hope-inspiring book, Monday Motivations Profound.
The book is unique in many ways. First, it is a series of 52 short stories, all of them based on the real life experiences of people that have opened their hearts to Liza.
Some have allowed their hearts to bleed, some have allowed their laughter to ring through and some were just out to tell a good story. Some, of course, have something grand to say about life.
Some, however, are ends unto themselves, such as the opening story in which the narrator, a young man, is thrust into a position of responsibility to negotiate dowry with wazee on behalf of a “mzungu”. He does so well that in the end, the elders are willing to overlook the fact that he is single and searching.
Some are tales of a bright dawn after the darkest night, such as the story of the young Christian Union soloist, who is left pregnant after her first sexual encounter with a fellow university student who also professes Christianity.
Her parents cannot believe that she has been led into temptation and left holding a baby. In the end, however, the author shines a ray of hope when the single mother finds love and eventually marries a man who fulfils her.
“He now brews the coffee in our home,” says the subject. It is an uplifting story for those who love happy endings.
However, Profound is not Larry Liza’s first book. He is also the author of Irresistible, a collection of poems about love, romance and affection.
Larry, whose mother died when he was relatively young, used proceeds from that book to light up the lives of needy children by keeping them in school. And when he needed to self-publish Profound, he did not need to dig back into his pockets. He used what was left over from the sales of the first book to foot the bills of publishing the second one.
Like with the first book, Larry has been selling Profound mostly through pre-orders, promoting it on his Facebook page.
The book was launched on February 2, 2019 at the St Andrews PCEA church in Nairobi.
“The book is divided into five segments,” Larry told the Saturday Nation before the launch. “During the launch, we will get one subject from each of those sections to recount their story.”
