Book Review: Through the Gates of Thought

• A review of Nana Awere Damoah's book

By Francis Doku, Arts/Entertainment Critic & Columnist, Graphic Showbiz

I AM notorious for not being a big fan of motivational books hence I do not spend my time reading many of them. My reason is simple: it appears to me that most authors of motivational books just recycle old material, put new covers on them and then take them to the market to sell and since I hate to be swindled I stay away from them. That could be a mistake but it is what I don't do.

I had therefore hoped that when I lay hands on 'Through the Gates of Thought', the new book authored by Nana Awere Damoah, it would not be a motivational book because that would have de-motivated me from reading it as much as I would love to. Thankfully it was not wholly a motivational book as I would know from turning the pages.

There are aspects of motivation and empowerment in the book but well presented by the author to ensure that it is not the normal 'in your face' kind of motivational writing. What you have is just a drop here and another there for good measure.

Again, it must be noted and forcefully emphasised that 'Through the Gates of Thoughts' is difficult to categorise into any particular genre as the author ensures that he hops around different areas of human endeavour to bring home his point. There is sometimes a sense of dé jà vu – that you have seen this somewhere before, but the way it is presented would make it difficult to trace.

Also, it is not an autobiography otherwise the author would have spoken only about himself and his life story, albeit borrowing very heavily from things that happened in his life to demonstrate some of the points that he sets out to drive home to the reader.

Furthermore, 'Through the Gates of Thought' is by no means a fictional work as a chunk of the material that combine to make the content of the book are factual accounts of things that have happened while Damoah was around or had been told of them to have happened. There are some which may be a bit farfetched but factual as well.

So what exactly is the subject matter of 'Through the Gates of Thought'? It is basically a book that sets out to call on everybody who reads to come out of a certain situation by encouraging them to take an action in order to achieve certain goals. In my humble view, Damaoh's goal in this book is to reinforce the saying that "the mind is a terrible thing to waste" and therefore I see it more as a book that exhorts and inspires the reader.

In sum 'Through the Gates of Thought' is an eclectic collection of true life stories, motivation and empowerment, anecdotal illustrations, poetry, proverbs, aphorisms, maxims, scriptural verses, industrial experiences, humour, remonstrations and many more. It is a 'fat' collection of rich text divided into 24 chapters and spread across 127 pages.

To prove a very important point of borrowing the words of some of the greatest speakers and writers for his work Damoah sets out even before the preface page to quote great wordsmiths like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Edison and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow along with two wise Akan proverbs.

Delving into the book proper, the reader would realise that from words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters Damoah does not struggle to present himself as a very good storyteller. He easily lays the foundation and then gives the facts and concludes with a particular call to action. He does not beat about the bush as he goes straight to the point and ends it there.

The language used by the author in writing this book is very simple without any form of verbosity or with many big words that would confuse the most basic reader. Basic vocabulary and grammar are what he employs in this book. It appears that pomposity is not one of the characters that Nana Awere Damoah subscribes to and it is therefore not surprising that he does not let that show in his writings.

One thing that sets this book out from many you would read or have read is the exercise that is attached to almost all the chapters. The author asks the reader to do a self assessment, consider their current situation, think about what they intend to do, among others, based on the issues raised or a story told story told in the chapter and act accordingly. However, there are times when he says it all in the story or anecdote and therefore leaves the reader without any exercise.

An example of the above is the story in Chapter 9 where Damoah brilliantly narrates a very significant and interesting thing that happened to him during his secondary school days. In an angry response to the school's decision that students in sixth form should wear shorts instead of trousers (pants) Damoah and some of his friends wore the "defunct uniform" as a way of protesting the decision by the authorities. Those who did this were summoned to a meeting by the headmaster and Damoah chose to attend the meeting very late which led to his name being written down, possible for punishment. In his anger and the desire to make his thoughts known to the authorities he wrote the worst letter he would ever write and it almost led to his dismissal from the school. The lesson from this chapter was in the words of the forgiving headmaster that he should only speak when he was angry with someone or about something "but never ever write a letter in your anger – words written can never be erased."

Another thing the reader would find interesting in Damoah's book are the many quotes he unselfishly share in almost every chapter of the book. That Damoah is well read cannot be disputed but it also cannot be disputed that he knows his local proverbs as well as he knows the Bible. These are manifested by the many quotes he reproduces from many sources including some of the greatest men and women who ever lived, a good dose of African proverbs, maxims and usages as well as a lot of scriptural verses.

Unfortunately that aspect happens to be the only chink that I see in his carefully designed amour of a good literally work. In his desire to share a lot of wise words with readers he ended up sometimes throwing in too many quotations in one chapter for as they say "too many cooks spoil the broth."

This is the second book to be authored by Nana Awere Damoah and it is interesting to note that although he is not a full time author he is able to balance his professional day job as a manager at Unilever Ghana with writing, among other things. That makes him a living example of what he professes in this book, which is to encourage people to set their minds to do the things they want to do without any procrastination and regardless of other commitments or difficulties.

The approach by which he authored this book is very characteristic Damoah as he mixes different styles to forcefully drive home the point. There are times when the reader finds himself reading prose and before he knows it he has moved into a verse-like style so sudden he doesn't realise when it happened. Similar style formed the basis of his first book 'Excursions in my Mind'.

This maybe a book for the young person who needs a kick in the shin to take an action, but it is also one for a very old person who still has not been able to put their dreams, vision and fantasy into reality. It is indeed a must-read for all ages, faith and creed.

'Through the Gates of Thought' was published by Athena Press of London and is available online at www.amazon.com and the Silverbird Lifestyle Store at the Accra Mall. ‘Through the Gates of Thought’ will be launched in Accra on the 5th November, 2010, at the Conference Hall, Teachers' Hall Annex, 4 Barnes Close, Education Loop (off Barnes Road).