Former city mayor’s memoir is a moving read

OVERCOMING LIFE’S CHALLENGES – A PERSONAL MEMOIR OF A CAPE TOWN MAYOR

THE Bard tells us that some men are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them. Gordon Oliver had greatness thrust upon him when he assumed the Cape Town mayoral chain in 1989 for a two-year term.

This was a tumultuous time in our city and country, and Gordon, a thoroughly decent man from a humble background, handled the tumult with grace and courage. This is his story.

This slim volume is divided into three parts. For me the strongest and most interesting part is his time leading the city as mayor. I found it profoundly moving in parts to read about his struggles in doing the right thing, overcoming his self-doubts.

His humility, decency and general likeableness allowed him to prevail. This is what true courage looks like. Ordinary people putting up their hands to take responsibility for doing what is needed and what is right at the right time. The people of Cape Town owe him a debt of gratitude for the two years he spent in the mayoral hot seat.

The core of the book is sandwiched between the section dealing with his childhood and then it ends with parts detailing his life after the mayoralty.

His childhood was characterised by a difficult upbringing and there is no doubting that he suffered from significant CEN (childhood emotional neglect). This impacted his relationships and contributed to the failure of three marriages. He shares these details dispassionately and without looking for sympathy or blaming anybody least of all his parents or ex-wives. Or, for that matter realising that he experienced CEN.

In the last part of the book Gordon writes about his spiritual journey. He is today a popular minister in the Unitarian church in Cape Town. I know that he is much loved because of what I have heard and not from anything he says in the book. This section will be of great interest to others on a similar quest.

Gordon wrote the book himself, without using a ghost writer and it shows in the occasional clumsy phrasing. But this gives the book its charm. Even the clunky title could have been jazzed up. However, the title is a neat summary of the contents. I liked the book very much and it deserves a wider readership than just local history buffs, or family and friends.

The book is available from leading bookshops and Austin MaCauley Publishers.