Anyone who has ever suffered from depression or pain has a story to tell on how they coped. Some have sought solace through writing, and find it easier to open up about their feelings on paper. They say writing is therapeutic, and 23-year-old Patrick Shyaka, an introvert by his own admission, agrees with this, saying it is a way to deal with pain and sorrow.

He recalls having disagreements with his father, and sometimes feeling like no one cared about him. The more he thought about this, the more he unknowingly detached himself from people. 

In 2019, he wrote an article titled "I Will Get Drunk”. His world seemed lonely, and nothing was certain on the way forward.

"I asked myself how people who do not feel cared for find solutions, before turning to alcohol. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a great article and people related to it,” he says.

Even though it didn’t feel like it at the time, he was healing from his pain as writing was a fun practice that occupied him every time he was lonely. Shyaka then started freelance writing for a global online site as he discovered more of his potential.

He sent some of his articles to different media platforms and later released a collection of 15 poems in 2019. By that time, he had met a number of poets who had given him more understanding of the art. 

Patrick Shyaka with his book during the inteview. Photos/Olivier Mugwiza

Shyaka says he was familiar with the arrangement and tone of words, and used some wit to make his writing more appealing to readers. After realising the need to keep the reading and writing culture alive, especially among the youth, he decided to write a book.

Getting ideas for the book wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be, so he searched through some of his old articles and came across his favourite piece, and he decided to broaden it. 

Two years later, he released his first book, still titled "I Will Get Drunk”. The narrative is centred on youth that use alcohol as a solution to life’s challenges.  

"My book is against the notion that drinking is a solution—alcohol can’t fix any kind of issues,” he says.

Along the way, he learned to understand the discord with his father, after realising that his father has dissimilar perspectives on life.  

Writing journey

Shyaka’s writing interest was sparked in senior two at Byimana School of Sciences. At first, he would write rap lyrics. He filled two counter books with songs of his favourite Rwandan artistes.

He called himself "Driverman”, a name he derived from his favourite rapper, Riderman, a local hip-hop recording artiste, songwriter, and music producer.

By the time he joined A-level, rapping wasn’t really much of his thing anymore. Through General Paper lessons, he started enjoying writing essays—and eventually, poems.

After completing high school, a friend of his started a blog, which inspired him to do the same.  Using his blog, he shared his ideas, experiences, and thoughts.

At first, Shyaka felt good about the feedback and comments from readers, but then, he wanted to write something with a bigger purpose. So he switched to deeper topics, for example one of his articles was titled "What if using your brain was not as good as using your heart?” Topics like these and more encouraged him to dig deeper and understand more about life. 

"I put my thoughts out once every week. I currently have 50 articles on my blog,” he says.

"When I joined Adventist University of Central Africa in 2017, where I am currently pursuing a course in software engineering, I discovered that my point of view on diverse matters was different from my colleagues. I view things in an assorted way.

"I don’t fancy writing about love. I believe that romance is highly exaggerated by writers, actors, and musicians, yet in reality, it is just the opposite,” he says.

Asked if he has ever experienced ‘true love’, he laughs and says, "No”, adding that whereas his parents love him, there is no girl that has made him fall madly in love.

The only love he considers is the kind of love that the Bible emphasises—the one of Jesus dying on the cross for mankind’s sins.

When he is not writing, Shyaka watches movies or plays basketball, and, he says, he loves to travel too but Covid-19 got in the way of that. 

His eBook is available on Amazon at $4 (about Rwf4, 000), and hardcopies, that will be displayed in local bookstores soon, will go for Rwf 8,000. 

For more information about his book and how to get it, you can reach Patrick Shyaka on 0784712442