Where to Now?

What will you do with all the talents you have been blessed with? How will you use the opportunities life presents to shape your life? Will you ignore your true passion to conform to someone else's definition of success? In this unconventional anthology, singer and song-writer, Moonga Mkandawire uses the lyrics of 32 songs to recount his decision to follow his dream of combining his musical and mathematical talents, defying a predictable career path. Taking the reader through his journey of self-discovery from his early-twenties, Moonga poetically details the struggles of a young person coming to grips with the responsibilities of adulthood and the conflict of having multiple talents and interests. Where to now? will inspire you to set out on your own voyage of rediscovery and to build the resilience to live your life fully.

In this unconventional anthology, singer and song-writer, Moonga Mkandawire uses the lyrics of 32 songs to recount his decision to follow his dream of combining his musical and mathematical talents, defying a predictable career path. Taking the reader through his journey of self-discovery from his early-twenties, Moonga poetically details the struggles of a young person coming to grips with the responsibilities of adulthood and the conflict of having multiple talents and interests. He also shows how the decisions made in your late teens and early twenties shape the rest of your life. Often explaining the metaphors and double meanings in his lyrics, Moonga also invites the reader to start writing as a way of life and a way of dealing with emotions that may be difficult to express verbally. The anthology is presented in three acts based on the three general methods Moonga uses when writing songs: Act 1: A song comes to his mind complete or already formed; Act 2: A song is written as a response to an outside stimulus that makes an impression; Act 3: A song is written to say something or deal with a specific issue. Accompanied by honest anecdotes which detail moments of joy, despair, loss and triumph, Where to Now? leads the reader to the realization that courage and wisdom are the sole determinants of personal success and inspires readers to set out on their own voyage to rediscover their talents, to redefine their existence and to build the resilience to live their lives fully.

Moonga Mkandawire is the founder and Managing Director of ES Capital Partners, a talent management company that facilitates artistic and professional development. A self-taught musician and composer, his music ranges from folk to choral, pop, hip-hop, jazz and classical. Born in Kitwe, Zambia, Moonga moved to South Africa in 2001 and studied actuarial science at the University of Pretoria before leaving in his final year to pursue music. The combination of his mathematical background and a passion for the arts has led him to become an innovator who is able to bring together diverse groups of people and seemingly unrelated ideas together in achieving a common goal. Where to Now? an anthology of 32 of his songs and the stories that inspired them, is his first book. Moonga lives with his wife Otae in Pretoria, South Africa.