A memoir written at 26 is a statement of intent as much as a record, and Olivia Tutu made hers plain at the launch of ‘Authentic: A Life Chosen, Not Given’ in Lusaka on Saturday 17 October. The ten-chapter book, published in August, traces her path from Matero Township to the founding of Youth on Sustainable Development, work as a development consultant, education activism and speaking engagements abroad, the Times of Zambia reported in a feature on 19 October.
I do not just want to be a celebrity. I want to matter. I want to leave a mark.
— Olivia Tutu, author, at the launch of her memoir in Lusaka on 17 October, as reported by the Times of Zambia
She described the book as her most personal work, saying that people had seen the stages, the advocacy and the leadership for years but not the story behind them.
Who spoke
Absa Bank Zambia chief executive Mizinga Melu, the guest of honour, formally launched the book and urged young people to be honest about failure and to write their own stories, saying that a difficult beginning can shape a person without determining where they end up. Dr James Wakiaga, the United Nations Development Programme’s resident representative in Zambia, said giving young people a voice matters and commended the author’s commitment to youth development. A book signing followed; the Times of Zambia quotes an attendee who related to the account of growing up in a village with very little.
The paper describes Ms Tutu as a content creator, technology enthusiast, global speaker and ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals. It does not name the publisher or give a price, and says the book is expected to be listed on Amazon in January 2027.
For a memoir by a youth-development specialist, the test will be whether the book travels beyond the launch audience into the schools and youth programmes of the kind its author runs; the Amazon listing planned for January would put it in front of readers outside Zambia for the first time.
Sources: Times of Zambia, “Olivia Tutu launches inspiring memoir in Lusaka” (19 Oct 2026).