Land can be sold. Money gets spent. Wisdom has to be written down.
Inheritance is fifty one-page letters from respected Africans to a young African starting out. The lessons they paid for, handed down in their own words, while they can still give them.
Launching in early 2027.
A will says what you owned. A letter says who you were.
The generation ahead of you learned most of it the hard way. Most of it was never written down.
Starting out alone.
Young people begin careers, businesses and callings without what those ahead of them learned about failure, courage and service.
The lessons leave with the people.
When a respected elder or leader dies, what they learned goes with them. Their families keep the name and the property. The lessons are rarely in the will.
Passed down by right.
We hand on names, land and heirlooms without a second thought. Wisdom deserves the same.
Fifty letters, passed down.
Each letter is written in the contributor’s own voice, to a young person beginning their career or to their own 25-year-old self. The book presents the letters as something passed down by right, the way a name or land is passed down.
One page each
Fifty letters of 350 to 450 words, arranged in five parts: On Beginnings, On Failure, On Courage, On Service and On What Lasts.
In your own language
Letters are welcome in the contributor’s own language, printed beside an English translation.
Written with care
A contributor can write the letter, or speak with one of our writers for 30 minutes and approve a draft in their own words. Nothing is published until they approve it in writing.
No contributor pays to be included, and none is paid. Contributors keep the copyright in their letter.
Know a voice the book should carry?
Letters are by invitation, chosen for credibility and range, not fame alone. We also welcome suggestions for the voices heard least: teachers, nurses, farmers and community elders.
A nomination is a suggestion, not an invitation. Nothing is published about anyone without their written approval.