I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden traces Oates's adventure as it led him to Zimbabwe where, aged eighteen, he was made deputy head of a rural secondary school - which had yet to be built. It follows him in South Africa during the final year of Mandela's presidency, where he worked with Zulu leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, as South Africa sought to shape a future from its bitterly divided past. The story culminates in the roller-coaster-ride of Britain's first post-war coalition government where, as Nick Clegg's Chief of Staff, he had a unique view of events that shaped the future of the country and learned important lessons about the difference between power and duty.

Autorentext

Jonny Oates is a former deputy director of communications in 10 Downing Street and was chief of staff to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg during the coalition government. Inspired by Band Aid and Live Aid, he ran away from home to Ethiopia in 1985 hoping to help victims of the Ethiopian famine. He subsequently worked as a teacher in Zimbabwe and as a political adviser in South Africa's first post-apartheid parliament. Jonny has twenty-five years' experience in senior communications and advisory roles in the private and public sector both at home and abroad. He is currently a Member of the House of Lords and continues to advise individuals, companies and charities on communications. He lives in south-west London.

Klappentext

Aged fifteen and armed with a credit card stolen from his father, Jonny Oates ran away from home and boarded a plane to Addis Ababa. His plan? To single-handedly save the Ethiopian people from the devastating 1985 famine. Discovering on arrival that the demand for the assistance of unskilled fifteen-year-old English boys was limited, he learned the hard lesson that you can't just change the world by pure force of will. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden traces Oates's journey through geographies, emotions and politics as he learns that lasting and sustainable change comes from working together rather than standing alone. It leads him to Zimbabwe, where, aged eighteen, he becomes deputy headteacher of a rural secondary school; to South Africa in the final year of Nelson Mandela's presidency, where he works in the first post-apartheid parliament as the country seeks to shape a future from its bitterly divided past; and ultimately to the roller-coaster ride of Britain's first post-war coalition government, where, as Nick Clegg's chief of staff, he helps shape the future of his own country and learns important lessons about the difference between power and duty.