Upon the launch of my book HELP; What it Means, How to Offer, How to Receive, I have often come across; “Why did you write the book?” A genuine question from friends and random people who obviously find the topic quite fundamental and interesting. I hope this piece cracks that big puzzle!Living in a world brimming with information and loud voices, we often fail to reflect on the most basic human currency that sustains community and builds destiny; Help! You would realize HELP is spoken about often, demanded even more, and yet is among the most misunderstood concepts in our society.
Let me admit, this book was born from deeply personal reflections; moments in my own journey when, having struggled and slowly emerged into some semblance of success, I found many acquaintances and distant relatives eager to lay claim to my progress. Success, they say has many friends! You may never know! Some proudly declared that they had “made me;” A disturbing posture that so exaggerated their contributions to my life in ways that bore no resemblance to reality. In their minds, they had helped me but in truth, their actions either arrived too late, fell short of my actual needs, and or left me worse off, burdened by expectations of endless gratitude. I often wished I had never accepted their so-called help, which came more like a trap than a gift; a mere cup of water offered with the entitlement of someone who believes they offered that ocean that saw my ship sail to the next world.
This experience, I have come to realize, is not unique. I had friends who would share their stories and frustrations on this same situation. Indeed, many suffer from the confusion between giving and helping where people give without truly listening, without understanding the need, and then boast about their gesture, demanding praise for aid that brought no real relief. These transactional expectations and misaligned intentions have strained countless relationships, leaving wounds where there should have been healing. It is this painful confusion, and the urgent need to untangle it, that inspired me to write HELP.
So yes! If you ever asked why I, this is essentially the reason I wrote the book “HELP – What it Means, How to Offer and How to Receive.”
It is not just another self-help book. The book remains an intentional literary effort to demystify help; to peel back its layers and expose its essence, its misuses, abuses, and its transformative potential for individuals and nations alike.
Below are six of the many reasons that moved me to put pen to paper.
1. To Properly Define and Inspire a Focal Conversation on Help:
You would find in the pages, that Help is not merely doing something for someone. Neither is it a word to be casually thrown about in times of need. I seek to bring clarity to what help truly is; an act rooted in empathy, driven by understanding, and guided by wisdom. Our inability to define help properly has robbed relationships of their mutual benefit and left many ungrateful or bitter. I believe it is time we sat down as a society and had an honest conversation about what help truly means with clarity of thoughts.
2. To Address the Confusion Around Who Has Helped or Not and Who Has been Helped or Not:
In every instance of intervention, either one is Helping or another being Helped on one hand, or someone is not being helped or another is not helping. Kindly read that again. Conflicts between friends, within families, and even among nations often stem from a distorted understanding of help. Some believe they have helped when they actually have merely given. Others feel they have not been helped simply because what was offered did not match their expectations. This confusion fuels entitlement, resentment, and misplaced judgments. Through this book, I attempt to clarify these grey areas and restore truth where ambiguity has bred discontent or unnecessary pride.
3. To Arouse Sensibilities for the Plight of Others:
We live in increasingly individualistic times where personal convenience often overshadows communal concern. Yet, the strength of any society lies in its ability to care. By writing HELP, I aim to awaken our moral sensibilities to restore a culture where people feel the burden of others as a shared human experience. We must move beyond passive sympathy to beneficial human relations where help is not a favor done, but a timely conscientious responsibility embraced.
4. To Highlight the Distinction Between Help and Giving
One of the core arguments in the book is the difference between giving and helping. Many give money, time, advice, etc, but not all help or carry an intention to help. You will learn in the book that Giving us more focused on the giver’s quota than it is of the receiver’s need. We establish thence, that Giving is about what leaves your hand as helping is about what changes a life. When we conflate the two, we shortchange both the giver and the receiver. This distinction, though subtle, is essential for building relationships that heal and empower rather than dominate or deplete.
5. To Equip All who Seek Healthy Relationships with Practical Community Development Strategies to Understanding the needs of others:
For a Human Development Practitioner, Michael carefully knits in the pages, a great deal of insights from how successful community and rural development bids are carried out. You will learn in the book that understanding help is not just a moral or philosophical need. Help is is a practical necessity. Whether you are leading a family, managing a team, building a community, or simply navigating friendships, you must know how to discern needs, offer relevant support, and receive assistance with dignity. HELP offers strategies for community development and relational intelligence that everyone; young or old, can apply.
6. To Inculcate the Art of Serving Others in a Generation Fashioned After Premature Independence
This particular point is crucial to neutralizing the effects of the perilous times the Bible has forewarned us of. We have raised a generation obsessed with self-sufficiency; independence before maturity, voice before wisdom, freedom without responsibility. In such a climate, the idea of serving others often seems archaic or even weak. This book is a bold reminder that true strength lies in service. That before one qualifies to receive genuine help, they must understand what it means to serve. This is not merely cultural; it is spiritual and foundational to nation-building.
HELP is structured in 7 Parts and 20 Chapters, each carefully layered to walk the reader through a journey of understanding, giving, helping, receiving, and ultimately, cultivating a lifestyle of support. This book is a call to leaders, friends, families, churches, and communities to rethink how we build each other up.
Who Should Read It?
1. The misunderstood helper.
2. The disappointed receiver.
3. The curious student of human behaviour.
4. The lonely leader.
5. The community builder.
6. Anyone who has ever needed help, offered help, or been caught in the murky waters between the two.
If you have ever wondered why your support was rejected, why some relationships drained you instead of fulfilling you, or how to raise children and friends who understand service and gratitude, this book was written with you in mind.
Partner with me and the HelpZone Foundation Ghana, Let us build a new generation not just of givers, but of helpers. Not just of receivers, but of grateful stewards. A generation that understands that help is not what we do when it is convenient, but what we live for. Let’s journey together towards a world where HELP is no longer confused, abused, or taken for granted but rightly understood, purposefully offered, and graciously received.
To get copies, Visit:
https://booknook.store/product/help-what-it-means-how-to-offer-how-to-receive/
Also available in Accra at Airport Shell Shop, EPP Bookshop, Kingdom Bookshop and Transforme Bookshop Haatso.
You can also call Frankie +233544841802 and Lawyer Addobea 0558188615 for your orders!
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