With three bestselling books published, Khaya Dlanga is one of South Africa’s favourite authors. His ability to write candidly and authentically about himself and his world has resonated with readers from all walks of life. In March 2020 Khaya found himself bereaved, alone and facing an indefinite lockdown as a result of COVID-19.
Like most of us, he turned to social media to maintain some human connection and his followers came through and kept him going. It’s the answers for me is the result of Khaya’s ongoing Q&A interactions with his followers on Instagram. It’s evidence of the genuine communities that are formed on social media: intensely human, at times strange and shocking, sometimes touching and often really funny.
And it’s a record of a nation going through the most bizarre (and longest) year in recent history. Khaya’s enviable gift for storytelling makes people want to hear his stories and also to trust him with theirs. From the secrets our parents think they keep from us to the real reasons we stay in relationships, and venturing into many other everyday issues and situations, It’s the answers for me captures our collective mgowo.