By Yvonne Durant, Audible Editor

MANDELA: THE LOST TAPES IS A TOUCHING, INTIMATE CONVERSATION WITH THE MAN HIMSELF AND THE GHOSTWRITER WHO BECAME HIS FRIEND

I was living in Milan when Mandela took his first steps to freedom. Pronounced with an Italian accent, his name came out as "Man-day-la." It warmed my heart every time a friend asked, "Hai sentito? Man-day-la è, libero." (Have you heard? Mandela is free.) Not that I thought Italians didn’t care, Mandela’s plight just wasn’t a typical topic of conversation. One friend, a South African woman who had been living in Italy for years, worried that he would be assassinated within days of his release. I am so happy that never happened.

Nearly 30 years before, he saved himself in a split-second decision. He was cornered by police, he had a gun in his hand—there was no way he would get out of this alive. He chose to live believing that he would get a lawyer and be exonerated. Mandela believed that the legal system would understand that he was a good man with honorable intentions as he raised his voice against the oppressive government of apartheid. Instead, there would be no lawyers, just 27 years of prison on Robben Island. That the bed Mandela had to sleep in was too short for his six-foot frame was nothing compared with the daily hardships of prison. But he prevailed. He found a way to get his 500-page autobiography decreased to 50 pages and spirited it out of prison. He even became friends with some of his jailers who were poor South Afrikaans and had their struggles too. This was a cunning move on his part in that he became a symbol of hope for those whites not born into privilege who felt oppressed. He knew he would need their support on his road to the leadership of South Africa.

As I listened, I envied the relationship that developed between Richard Stengel and Mandela. Stengel earned his trust, and it was clear that Mandela was very fond of him, almost fatherly. In fact, Stengel took his advice when he urged him to marry Mary Pfaff, the South African photographer he met while working on the book. Both of the Stengels' sons carry Mandela’s names. Their older son’s middle name is Rolihlahla, which is Mandela’s birth name, and the younger son’s middle name is Madiba, the name of Mandela’s clan. Both boys met Mandela—talk about a memorable experience!

The main lesson I learned from listening to Mandela: The Lost Tapes is the importance of perseverance. It is key because brighter days will come. No day was as bright for me during my years in Italy when I saw Nelson Mandela walking, tall and distinguished, to freedom at last.

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