Book Review: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
By Adam C. & Wing C. with Chat-GPT
Nelson Mandela’s autobiography is not only the story of one man’s life, but a testimony to the endurance of the human spirit against oppression. His 27 years in prison are recounted without bitterness; instead, they reveal a man who refused to let hatred chain his heart, even as his body remained behind bars.
Reading Mandela’s words, I cannot help but think of my own past. In 1949, when I was just 14 years old, my family was forced to flee our homeland as the Red tide swept across China. We came from a well-off family with political ties to the National Party, and staying would have meant persecution, perhaps worse. My father—your grandfather—uprooted everything we had and led us to Hong Kong, then a British colony. There, we faced discrimination under colonial rule, yet we endured, carving out a new life and raising three children in freedom.
It was not the same as Mandela’s 27 years behind bars, yet the essence was similar: the painful loss of home, the weight of injustice, and the long, uncertain journey toward dignity. I see in Mandela’s struggle a mirror of the sacrifices my parents made, and the resilience demanded of all who are forced to walk away from their homeland for the hope of liberty.
What Mandela teaches us is that freedom is not simply the absence of chains or the right to speak, but the courage to stand up for justice without surrendering to hate. His leadership was not about wielding power, but about serving people—even those who once oppressed him.
For me, Long Walk to Freedom is both an extraordinary history of South Africa and a personal reminder: the fight for freedom is never abstract. It is written into the lives of those who lose everything yet keep walking forward. Mandela’s long walk is also, in some sense, mine. And in reading him, I am reminded that freedom, though costly, is always worth the journey. I dedicate this book to everyone, in every land, who is still walking their own road to freedom.
Personal Note by Wing C.
Like my father, I too made my own walk to freedom—leaving Hong Kong in 1992 with my three-year-old son, before the Handover. Our family’s story of displacement and resilience has repeated across generations. Reading Mandela reminds me that the long road to freedom is never walked alone, and one day I will write my own review.