Roads Less Travelled: A Street Kid’s Memoir A True Story of Hunger, Neglect, and Hope Against All Odds

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Front Cover Page of Felix Kinyua's Memoir, Now available at Ksh. 350. Image/Felix Kinyua. 

Some stories are lived before they are written. Others are written so they are never forgotten.

Roads Less Travelled: A Street Kid’s Memoir by Felix Kinyua is a deeply personal account of childhood shaped by poverty, hunger, and abandonment—and the quiet strength that emerges from surviving it. Below is an unchanged extract from Chapter One, offering readers a glimpse into the world this memoir reveals.

Extract from Chapter One

By the tender age of three, I was well-acquainted with the gnawing pangs of an empty stomach, a rite of passage in our grand saga of struggle. Our main culinary masterpiece was the art of surviving a few days on nothing but sheer willpower. My grandmother and I ventured into the world of casual Labor, navigating the perilous landscape of sporadic job opportunities on nearby farms. These jobs, like the fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, were elusive, demanding relentless effort for their discovery.

A true Dickensian existence, if you will, but there was no ol' Ebenezer Scrooge to awaken the benevolence of our extended family dwelling nearby. They were experts in the fine art of neglect, meticulously perfecting the skill of minding their own business. Thus, it was at this tender age that I became acquainted with a rather unpleasant bunch of companions - jiggers. The parasitic tormentors were swift to take advantage of our circumstance, but did anyone lend a hand? Oh, no! Everyone was far too engrossed in the riveting affairs of their own lives to spare a thought for my plight.

Occasionally, I'd steal a precious moment with my cousins, but alas, their parents, with culinary timing that rivalled the finest orchestras, would summon them home just as meals were served. And I, the honorary guest in this gastronomic theatre, grandmother's humble abode, the designated starvation chamber, where the promise of sustenance was as fleeting as a wisp of smoke. Little did I know, my evenings would be spent conducting symphonies of hunger, a maestro of misery in the making.

Life, at this juncture, seemed to wear the mask of insurmountability. But little did I realize that within this tale of hardship, a glimmer of divine orchestration was about to unfurl, weaving together the threads of adversity and triumph in a grand tapestry that would leave even the most cynical reader in awe.

Why Read This Book?

This memoir is not fiction. It is not softened for comfort. It is a lived reality—shared to illuminate the experiences of children who grow up unseen, unheard, and unfed.

Roads Less Travelled speaks to:

  • Survivors of hardship

  • Readers who value authentic African stories

  • Anyone who believes resilience can be born from suffering

About the Author

Felix Kinyua is a Kenyan author whose life began in extreme poverty. Raised in an orphanage under harsh conditions, he writes from experience, not imagination. Through Roads Less Travelled: A Street Kid’s Memoir, Felix preserves a story of survival, faith, and endurance—so that stories like his are no longer ignored.

Buy the Book

📘 Title: Roads Less Travelled: A Street Kid’s Memoir
💻 Format: Soft copy
💰 Price: KSh 350

📩 To purchase:
SMS/WhatsApp MEMOIR to +254 704 565 790

Every copy bought helps keep this story alive—and ensures that journeys like this are remembered, not erased.

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