This remarkable life story offers young and old, white and black South Africans, an insight into life as it was in the country at the time when Ramaphakela Hans Hlalethwa grew up. We are given a picture of family life and values, with vivid descriptions of both comical situations and tragic events. We follow Hans in his hard slog to succeed in his chosen profession, education. It is vital for those who did not experience apartheid and what this did to the people of South Africa themselves, to be able to follow Hans' experiences: white prejudice, police action, arrests and detentions, sabotage and meetings, the so-called 'political funerals' of the 80's and much more. Those citizens who now, post 1994, can live free lives and who do not know what a passbook is, will find this book an eye-opener. Throughout his life, Hlalethwa's religious belief shines brightly, culminating in his ordination as a Deacon in the Catholic Church. His parish church in Soshanguve became almost as famous as Regina Mundi in Soweto as a centre for activism and opposition to the hated apartheid system, where he also was a fieldworker for the Justice and Peace Commission of the Pretoria Archdiocese.