Nelson Mandela began writing his autobiography while incarcerated in 1974. It was confiscated by authorities, but wrote again after being released in 1990, with the help of friends who helped him remember the details.

“Long Walk to Freedom” is a very thick book. I admit I skimmed the political pages because it would take a long time to read. Above all, she wanted to read about her childhood, marriages, and family life.

In fact, his life has been a long road. He went from being born in a typical African town, to earning a degree, becoming involved in a cause, being imprisoned, and eventually becoming a leader.

As a child, after the death of his father, he was sent to be raised by a family that could send their own to school. That must have been difficult for his mother, but she wanted him to have a future.

He said that he was circumcised, that he ran away from home with his friend to escape an arranged marriage, his marriages and children. Fate for him was difficult. His family did not get his presence because he had to save a nation.

It is painful as a Christian to know that at one point well-meaning missionaries treated other races as inferior in their attempts to help. We have seen it with Native Americans, Australians, and Africans. Still, the Methodist schools he attended gave him the education that many children do not receive. The man who raised him was returning a favor that Nelson’s father had done him when he was alive. This man was able to send him there.

Nelson Mandela was not his birth name. It was the Christian-English name given to him on his first day of school. His father died when he was nine years old.

When he was young, his friend’s father announced an arranged marriage. He had already chosen the brides for the two young men and paid the dowries. They ran away from home and got into various trouble. When the other young man received the news of his father’s death, Nelson told him that he should go home. By this time, Nelson already felt a call for his own life that he could not ignore.

His first marriage ended when his wife became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and they simply believed two different concepts. His second marriage ended after his release for the good of the country because his route had become too controversial.

I saw a documentary about his second wife, Winnie. Although her path later took a difficult turn, I think at first, she wanted to help her husband by getting involved. She herself was imprisoned for a period of time. The separation was very hard for her.

I read from other sources that he later married his third wife, who had been married to a previous leader before becoming a widow.

Although Nelson’s family paid a difficult price, his sacrifice changed a nation and the world.