CURTIS CAMPBELL, STAR Writer

Dancehall artiste Patrick 'Curly Lox' Gaynor of the duo Twin of Twins is gearing up to release his first book called 'The Road to Zion'. According to the artiste, the book will not only tell his life story, but draw attention to his experience and understanding of the inner city.

"The purpose of this book was not only to tell my story in a way no one has heard it before based on limitations put on me by the circumstances of my upbringing, but also to transcend the falsities that confine and in some ways shackled me to the ignorant criteria of the ghetto and dancehall culture for years. This is not only my story but the story of many people who face similar situations, but didn't or don't have the vehicle of common sense, education or any meaningful opportunities to help them rise above their situation," he told The STAR.

The artiste/author says the book focuses on important themes like the value of good parenting, child abuse, class-ism, unity, the effects of ignorance and the value of education, the challenges of success, faith and forgiveness. He also hopes readers will learn from its content.

"I hope fans will learn from and pass on the lessons I learnt through the violence of my past and hold true to the most significant thing which is that I triumphed over failure when it came disguised as success," he added.

The Road to Zion is named in honour of his son Zion who died in 2007. However, there is more.

"The significance of the name of the book is two-fold. Zion is the name of my son who died in 2007, and in the book I tell the story leading up to and subsequently following his death. Also, Zion is used in the true definition of the word - Utopia. It is for the common man who has walked or is walking that treacherous road to that place in his life where he finally understands the meaning of it all," he said.

Distinguish himself

Fans of Twin of Twins might wonder why the book was not named using the more popular Twin of Twins brand. Curly Lox says he wanted to distinguish himself as in individual and not just one half of twin.

The book will be sold at local book stores as well as on the website roadtozionbook.com. There are also plans to sell the book internationally through online stores like Amazonas well as through retailers in North America and Europe.

Publishing Manager at Whirlwind Entertainment International, Anna K Edwards, showered praises on the book.

"The book is an excellent read. For persons who know Patrick an entertainer, it is going to be different from the stuff they're used to hearing from him. For one, the book is very personal. He goes into a lot of personal issues like his life growing up, the death of his son as well the challenges of raising him as a mildly autistic child. The book holds many lessons that can pave the way for greater discussion, like the issue of corporal punishment and child abuse - how much is too much, and when is it no longer discipline and becomes plain cruelty? That's important one in light of recent UN calls for a ban on all forms of physical punishment in Jamaica," she said.

Patrick 'Curly Lox' Gaynor, is already working on his second book. "The Road to Zion tells my story from more a personal standpoint while the follow-up book will include more the social commentary which I started exploring in The Road to Zion," he said.