Boy On The Run

by Welcome Mandla Lishivha

‘It is the godly feeling of dancing like a goddess and snapping on a beat with sheer joy that makes all the trouble life demands worthwhile. In these moments, of intensive freedom from pain, of joy that knows no bound and peace that passeth all understanding, I become that kid again, dancing with my mother.’
Welcome Mandla Lishivha’s exquisitely crafted memoir is unlike anything you’ve ever read. Boy On The Run is a staggeringly beautiful and honest exploration of identity through grief, love and friendship, giving us, the readers, a glorious song of self-expression.

This book will change your life.

234 pages, Paperback

Published June 23, 2022

Reviews

[Kiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome Mandla Lishivha writes with his heart. I was held captive by his story from page one, barely blinking as I consumed each word. I cried as he cried and laughed as he laughed, engaged in a thoroughly entertaining description of his life so far - the ups, the downs, the adventures and the uncertainties. My favourite aspect of the book was experiencing places I know through different eyes and learning of new sides to South Africa I would otherwise never experience.

[Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy on the Run is a coruscating and searing work. In the end, we sit with Livshivha’s sudden personal tragedy, unimaginable loss, and grief experiencing it with him as friends rather than voyeurs.

Boy on the run invites us to cerebrate on queer people’s daily realities in relation to the politics of desirability, belonging, the intimacy of touch and dating. At the same time, it moves us to ruminate on the possibility for queer friendships and soft landings they can render.

A moving, tenderly written, achingly sad memoir about a traumatic event and the journey of becoming, unbecoming on the path to healing.

[Riana Engelbrecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a really easy read. I was sometimes lost in two aspects, first i did not always know how old Welcome was when specific events happened, and secondly i was sometimes lost re language.
I just say i had high hopes based on an interview i listed too, and i held the content to that standard, and that was disappointing for me.
But overall it was a beautiful story beautifully told.

[Gorata · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the copy I got, I found a note by the author, saying “I hope you are inspired and emboldened”. And indeed I am. Emboldened to honour my feelings and be courageous, just as the author has illustrated in this memoir.
Having shared space with Welcome in a few different contexts, I really enjoyed reading his perspective of the parts of our lives that have intersected. I was nostalgic reading about the Black Student Movement at Rhodes University. I also enjoyed the familiarity of all the references to Johannesburg and Wits University. I have always been curious to ask Welcome more about his MA project and so I also enjoyed reading about that journey. I also appreciated that amongst the stories of social connection, there was also a lot of attention paid to social justice. I'm admire and am impressed by how he understands the world around him.
One of the best things about this memoir is the tenderness displayed and the author’s honesty about the difficulty of wanting to love, be loved and belong in the world. I found these parts really relatable.
This book honours the author’s great loves - his mother, her family, his close friends - and does a really beautiful job of it.