{"product_id":"chasing-freedom-coming-of-age-at-the-end-of-empire-9780593443699","title":"Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn exquisitely crafted memoir, sweeping from Zimbabwe to Oxford, that lays bare the violent, enduring legacy of colonialism on both a country and a family\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSimukai Chigudu grew up in the shadow of Africa's struggles for liberation. As he navigates the tangled threads of personal and political history, he is guided by one central question: What does it mean to be truly free? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eChigudu's father fought in a guerilla war against the white supremacist regime of Rhodesia. He met Chigudu's mother while in exile in Uganda. After spending seven years apart, they reunite to build a life in newly independent Zimbabwe, hoping to offer their son the opportunities they never had. Yet Chigudu grows up in a world where colonialism never fully ended. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRacism persists: in the elite, white-run prep schools that groom him for life outside of Africa; in the British university where he is the only Black man in his class of 250; and finally as an Oxford professor, where a statue of the man who colonized his homeland--Cecil Rhodes--stands proudly on campus. As Zimbabwe convulses in the aftershocks of empire, facing political turmoil and economic collapse, Chigudu sees a parallel unravelling in his own family. His father, scarred by war, has turned to alcohol; his mother has grown distant and sorrowful. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this gorgeous and atmospheric family memoir, Chigudu embarks on a quest to understand how the trauma of decolonization has shaped not only his country, but his very identity--as an African, a migrant, a Black man, a doctor, a scholar, and a son. What he discovers is that colonization is a potent force that continues to upend lives and institutions. \u003ci\u003eChasing Freedom\u003c\/i\u003e is an intimate reckoning with the ghosts of the past that haunt our politics and our psyches in ways we can't always see.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Simukai Chigudu\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/24\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.30w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593443699\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSimukai Chigudu\u003c\/b\u003e is associate professor of African politics at the University of Oxford and fellow of St. Antony's College. He was previously a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He is one of the founding members of Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford, a campaign to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes at Oriel College--and decolonize the university.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Simukai Chigudu \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47792844931229,"sku":"9780593443699","price":50.53,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_62c3c6a5-58a2-4ab0-b289-264c60c54dd4.jpg?v=1774983193","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/chasing-freedom-coming-of-age-at-the-end-of-empire-9780593443699","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}