Ciyamba Nseka to launch debut book this Sunday June 11

Ciyamba Nseka to launch her debut book this Sunday, June 11 at 2 pm at the South Court Hotel

Ciyamba Nseka, the Limerick-based author, is set to release her book, “Grace to Run Your Own Race” this Sunday, June 11 at the South Court Hotel

Ciyamba Nseka, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Limerick-based author is set to release her book “Grace to Run your Own Race” this Sunday, June 11 at 2 pm.

The mother of five moved to Ireland having spent some time in South Africa before seeking asylum in Ireland, Ciyamba has been in Ireland since 2016, gaining Irish citizenship in 2018.

Currently working as a caregiver for the elderly, Ciyamba has been working on her book since her time in direct provision, Ciyamba told I Love Limerick, “When I started writing the book, it was as a legacy for my children. But the experience I went through when integrating in Ireland, in the hostel, it inspired me to write, and when we became citizens, at that ceremony, the minister said, ‘You have a voice, and you should let that voice be heard’, and I thought, I’m going to turn this into a voice.”

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The author says she has been writing the book “for a long time”, saying it began as one idea during the asylum process, but she decided “instead of writing about the problem, I would write about overcoming the problem” and hopes the book, which took almost seven years to complete, will help many people.

“I just hope it will bring resilience, courage, and determination to keep going even if they don’t feel like it,” said Ciyamba, explaining everybody has days where they feel like “Why do I have to do this. You can make a small choice, to stand and take a step”.

“The book is for everybody, I look at young people, they are having their own problems,” said Ciyamba when asked who would the book help, she noted we can learn from each other’s experiences, she explained”I usually tell my children, being a child is a treasure to value, because when you get to be an adult, that’s a lifetime. You want to be a child again and you can’t, so enjoy because it passes like that, you can see life for them compared to our generation is very different.”

The launch of “Grace to Run your Own Race” will take place on Sunday, June 11 at South Court Hotel and Ciyamba says it will be a “multicultural event” and will be mc of the event will be Limerick actor, Myles Breen. 

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