BookView Review

Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.

Recently, we interviewed Wilson Semitti about his writing and his latest book, A Boy Who Loved Me, a work of poignant words and deep reflection. (Read the review here.)

When did you decide you wanted to write a memoir, and did you have any reservations about doing so?

I lived in Thailand for three years and writing was one of the many things I did to earn a living. At the time I was hired to write travel blogs for holiday destinations and restaurants. I never received any credit for my work, but I realised that my blogs had so many impressions. That’s when I started thinking about writing something for myself. I struggled deciding on what topic to write for such a long time. It wasn’t till I was in Shanghai, China in 2018 on an internship with so much time on my hands when I decided that writing a memoir first would inspire me to figure out what I would write next.  I had so many reservations and it wasn’t an easy start because I was filled with fear of my family’s reaction.

 The first draft of about five chapters was not satisfying because I had omitted so many things for fear of rejection from my family. I have witnessed so many LGBTQ+ members in Uganda being disowned by their families because of the prejudices from the law enforcement agencies and society at large.

But when I read through what I had written at first, I asked myself, would I want to read a memoir like this? And the answer was no. From that moment, I decided that I live this life for me, therefore I am going to be authentic regardless of the consequences.

Were there any anecdotes you wanted to include in A Boy Who Loved Me but later decided to cut? If so, can you give us a peek at those?

Yes, there were a few anecdotes in the book which I decided to cut. For example, I remember my mother carrying me on her back from the house to the public transport whenever I had a sickle-cell crisis to get to the hospital. She did this without a sling, wrap or any kind of carrier till I was about twelve years old. I had to cut those anecdotes because I cannot begin to imagine how hard it was for her.

What was your favorite part of the process of writing your memoir?

My favorite part of the process was when I discovered that even if it is a memoir, I could be artistic in the way I present it to the world. I enjoyed presenting it the way I did because it gave me an opportunity to articulate my personal experiences for posterity.

You have worked in many fields before writing A Boy Who Loved Me. What drove you to become a writer?

Honestly, this happened by accident. I decided that I wanted to live in Asia for a while and I just went to Thailand on impulse. I hadn’t thought about what I was going to do for a living, and I found it so hard for black people to find employment in Thailand. One night I was in a bar and I met an English girl who earned a living through writing. She was kind enough to connect me to her employers and the rest is history.

If there were one thing you could say to every member of the LGBTQ+ community, what would it be?

The one thing I can say to every member of the LGBTQ+ community is that happiness can only be achieved by being authentic regardless of the pressure to act otherwise.

What’s next for you? Do you plan to continue writing, or are you moving on to the next chapter of your career?

Once you have written your first book, there is no stopping because now there is momentum. I am almost towards the end of my first fiction book. A Dance of the Phoenix, Part One, a novel based on Abraham Hick’s teachings of the Law of Attraction. Watch out for it next year.

***