Book Title: Living Life Until the Last Moment Author: Leonard Mashao
Living Life to the Fatest is the story of Maproeza, a mythical girl growing up in South Africa. Maproeza was born and raised in an old village in the former East Transvaal. Although she had loving parents, Maproeza was raised by her grandmother. Unlike some of her race, Maproeza was not born into a poor family. He had a good solid family structure that prepared him for the world beyond his village.
The book is a study in strength, resourcefulness and the desire to live one’s life to the fullest fatest spell. Maproeza is an embodiment of everything that admirable characters represent in a human being: loving, faithful and focused. Although he was born weak (respiratory disease), God guided the young man through the challenges of childhood. The book succinctly captures one man’s dreams, some half dreamed and some half fulfilled. It is a powerful mirror into the heart of a man growing up in South Africa.
There are three well-developed themes in Living Life to the Fullest: love, focus, and juvenile delinquency. The theme of love comes to us through Maproeza’s love for his grandmother or, alternatively, through Koko, who reads the grandmother’s love for her grandson. Maproeza calls himself a Koko boy. And he refers to his grandmother as an angel. “God provided a special granny (or an angel to take care of (me).” This theme is further explored through Maproeza’s love of life and passion for developing people, just like the author. The second theme of juvenile delinquency is but a mirror image of Maproeza’s wit. Despite his flirtations with alcohol and other mischief, he survived this stage of development in his life. The third theme is demonstrated through Maproeza’s success in He qualified in many careers, including human capital development.
The book inspires, educates and celebrates life. It is an important text in a country whose youth are overwhelmingly out of school and out of work.
The key principles of the book are:
• Accept the now.
• Be principled.
• When given opportunities, choose a meaningful path.
• Enjoy the journey of life and pay attention.
• Acknowledge the greatness within yourself and others.
• Find your place in the world.
• Make a difference for the better.
• Learn to see virtues wrapped in vices and vices wrapped in virtues.
The book also stresses the importance of a continued sense of hope, as well as diligent treatment of problems. Maproeza went through all the steps that a normal child experiences in South Africa, kept dreaming, gathered what he could from each situation and survived to this day.
