‘A gripping, poetic, vivid and deeply entertaining memoir.’ – Niq Mhlongo, author

‘The courage of conviction Mashaba displays is something to behold.’ – Vuyo Mvoko, journalist

They say a mirror never lies. If that’s the truth, then my reflection was of a broken man.

When Tumiso Mashaba’s father, Neo ‘Snowy’ Mashaba, dies at 55, it provokes in him an intense emotional reaction. Tumiso is stunned by his response, as his father was a distant and often hard man. In the aftermath, he reflects on what this means to him now as a husband and father to his own children. Will he repeat the sins of his father? Recounting his childhood, the author digs deep into his psychology, providing a deeply satisfying read with moments of intense anguish and catharsis.

A Father is Born is about intangible scars – inflicted by those closest to us – that we carry from childhood into the rest of our lives and the relationships we form along the way. Covering themes of fatherhood, masculinity, generational trauma, abuse and mental health, A Father is Born unveils a heartrending portrait of a family trying to survive against the backdrop of a gritty, modern South Africa.