I write to make sense of the world I’ve lived in — from having been raised on the shores of Lake Malawi, to navigating the halls of the United Nations, to building my companies and communities across Africa and beyond.
My books move between personal reflection and systemic critique; they’re about life, power, and what is possible when we dare to question the way things have always been.
Tens Series
This series began as a way to speak to younger versions of myself — and anyone stepping into adulthood with big dreams and bigger questions.
- By the End of Your Teens (2018) — the book I wish someone had handed me before I turned twenty; a gentle, practical guide for young dreamers.
- Traversing the Terrible Twenties (2025) — a candid exploration of ambition, failure, reinvention, and growth through one of life’s most defining decades.
Lessons Series
These seven books are my reckoning with international development — the systems I worked within, believe(d) in, and continue to challenge.
- Lessons – A handbook and memoir for anyone starting out in global development, drawn from my early years inside the UN.
- Beggars in Suits – A confrontation with elite capture and the polished performance of “doing good.”
- Systemic Nonsense – A sharp dissection of how illogic often drives global policy.
- Impossible Economies – A historical and personal look at how big powers have failed small nations.
- So Wrong for So Long – On why bad ideas endure — and when I, too, looked away.
- We Are Still at War – About the quiet, non-military wars still waged through aid, trade, and policy.
- A New Normal – My attempt to imagine what rebuilding could look like: more just, more creative, more hopeful.
Standalone Books
Some stories deserved to stand alone — more intimate, more personal.
- Feminine Silence (2025) — my exploration of womanhood, voice, and resilience.
- Lady at the Helm (2026) — a love letter to legacy, leadership, and the maritime story that shaped my family. A tribute to my (late) mother.
- African in America (2026) — Ndondwa’s journey of identity, race, and belonging across two worlds (my debut novel).
- Balance (2027) — reflections on ambition, wellness, and what it means to find steadiness in a demanding world.
Each book has been a step in understanding — of self, of system, of possibility. Together, they form a journey: from growing up in Malawi, to standing inside global power structures, to daring to imagine something better.
If you’d like to read more, collaborate, or bring me to speak, you can explore my publishing imprint Bien Books — a space I built to champion African and global voices ready to tell the stories that matter.
Read my Published Books:
If you’d like to go deeper into my journey — from Malawi, through the United Nations to Microsoft, you can find it in my books:
