Journey of addiction captured intimately
MELROSE ARCH – Star-studded audience attends memoir launch.
A journey of addiction, as well as gradual recovery, is finely captured in a recently released memoir.
Entrepreneur, social activist, mentor, inspirational speaker and author Abner Mariri launched his highly anticipated memoir, The Door – An Addict’s Journey, in Melrose Arch on March 24.
Mariri provides a deeply intimate journey of his descent into the hell of addiction and his slow ascent back into the light.
The elaborate book launch was an unforgettable evening of meaningful interactions and pertinent dialogue from an array of South Africa’s much-revered personalities. Panel discussions and keynote addresses came from the Mayor of Johannesburg Dr Mpho Phalatse, renowned kwaito star Kabelo Mabalane, prominent TV executive producer Duma Ndlovu, businessman Leslie Sedibe, hip-hop artist Gigi Lamayne, soccer legend Doctor Khumalo and much-loved media personality, Penny Lebyane.
In his book, Mariri candidly tells his life story of constant danger, depravity and unquenchable thirst for repeated hits, while leaving a nonplussed wife and puzzled children back home, and distraught relatives and friends. Most shockingly, Mariri was also leading an impractical double life of a practising counsellor who, himself, was in dire need of social intercession.
Mariri said, “This isn’t your usual ‘township boy memoir’ – this is a gritty, scary and too real story that could happen to anyone. This is my story of addiction and recovery. Read my story to discover how just one step can lead to a nightmare-filled life that defies and defiles itself. “
In the end, though, the memoir is a beautiful story of the cathartic return from the brink by a truly indomitable spirit. It is told through the employment of the door as an enduring theme, highlighting Mariri’s noteworthy life phases – from his formative years in the then apartheid South Africa (a closed door), his trials and tribulations of exile in the United States (opening a new door), and, onwards, to a triumphant homecoming (doorway to home).
The festive return was then ruined by a wrong turn in a nightclub and the beginning of what was to be Mariri’s hell on earth (the wrong door). These are then rounded off by the angst-filled salvaging of a life that was nearly destroyed by addiction, which is punctuated by a tumultuous time in rehab on the road to self-discovery and the learning and teaching of a crucial life lesson (breaking down the door, the door of hope and the right door).
Details: The book is available for pre-order at https://www.abnermariri.co.za/buy.php.
ALSO READ:
Parkhurst resident releases book exploring his journey from meth to marathons
