The Future
A heartfelt, practical exploration that invites readers to see autism not as a limitation, but as a unique way of experiencing the world.
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New release · Narrative nonfiction · Laikipia, Kenya
Juliana, The Queen of the Bees
My encounter and life with the Queen of the Bees and the Yaaku people of Mukogodo Forest.
A narrative nonfiction account of two days travelling with Juliana Loshiro — a young Yaaku leader, beekeeper and one of the last young speakers of Yaakunte — from a roadside stop on the way to Doldol to a fire-lit ceremony deep in Mukogodo Forest.
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Latest · A personal dispatch from Marsabit County
Save the Beauty
The Rendille girls I found beautiful deserve the chance to grow, dream and choose.
A personal dispatch from the Rendille Food and Cultural Festival in Marsabit County, where Makena Brandon found extraordinary beauty — and learned that early marriage is still taking the childhoods of Rendille girls today.
Read the dispatchAbout Makena
About Makena
Makena Brandon is one of Kenya's leading voices in contemporary literature.
He is the founder of Discussion Publishers PLC and the Discussion Newspaper Publishers Network, and his work moves across literature, philosophy, faith, society and youth empowerment.
His debut novel Lost Soil traces two siblings caught between tradition and temptation, and his philosophical work The Law of Human Meaning wrestles with life's deepest questions.
Through books, essays and serialized poetry, he seeks to inspire critical thinking, meaningful conversation and a culture of reading across Africa. He lives in Nairobi.
Read the booksThe Blood Between Us
A nine-part poetry series on family, betrayal and silence.
A nine-part meditation on family bonds, betrayal, silence, and the complex ties that hold us together — even as they unmake us. The series is complete with all nine episodes published on this site.
Read the series
Coming up
Is God a Christian
A forthcoming Makena Brandon project on faith, identity and the limits of the labels people place around God.
Follow the projectPoetry
Poetry
The Blood Between Us — a nine-part meditation on family bonds, betrayal, silence, and the complex ties that hold us together.
- Ep 01/09
The Beginning
When Love Becomes a Weapon
They taught me that love was supposed to hurt a little. So I learned to measure affection in bruises — the ones you can see, and the ones you hide beneath your ribs.
Ep 02/09Speaking the Unspeakable
The Cost of Being Believed
Truth is heavier when no one helps you carry it. You hold it in your chest until it hardens.
Ep 03/09The Weight of Quiet
The Silence That Breaks You
Silence has a weight. It sits on your chest like a stone you can't lift, pressing down until breathing becomes a chore.
Ep 04/09The Cost of Staying
I Stayed So You Wouldn't Break
I used to think leaving was betrayal. That walking away meant I'd become the villain in your story.
Ep 05/09Performance vs. Truth
The Ones Who Pretend to Love You in Public
There's a special kind of cruelty in being loved only where others can see.
Ep 06/09On Forgiveness
Forgiveness They Never Earned
They want forgiveness like it's a right, like their 'I'm sorry' is a magic spell that erases years of carefully calculated cruelty.
Books
Books
With literary, philosophical and faith-driven works to his name, it doesn't matter if you are a longtime reader or new to Makena Brandon — there is plenty for you to choose from.
Articles
Articles & Series
Long-form pieces and serialized reflections by Makena Brandon, published by Discussion Newspaper Publishers Network.
Society & Culture · Essay
The Digital Monetization of Prostitution
A reflection on how prostitution has evolved in the digital age — where technology and social media have changed not only how it happens but also how society perceives it.
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Ep 01Church Thoughts · Ep 01
Importance of Sin
A reflection from Sweetwaters Altar in Nanyuki on why sin exists, why God allowed temptation, and the difference between desire and destiny.
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Ep 02Church Thoughts · Ep 02
Sex — The Door
In the silence of an empty church at night, a single thought arrives — sex, the door. A reflection on intimacy, covenant, and the parts of us that desire touches beyond the body.
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Ep 03Church Thoughts · Ep 03
Poverty and God
Poverty is not merely an economic condition; it is a moral question that confronts every generation of believers.
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Ep 04Church Thoughts · Ep 04
My Sins
After meditating on Poverty and God, Makena Brandon falls asleep at Sweetwaters Altar and dreams of his own sins — sugar stolen as a child, a friend he betrayed in Class Five, gossip, hate.
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Ep 05Church Thoughts · Ep 05
The Tongue
Late at night at Sweetwaters Altar, Makena Brandon meditates on James 3 — why so small an organ carries so much weight, and how words spoken in childhood still shape grown men and women years later.
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The Law of Human Meaning
A philosophical journey into the core of human existence — what gives life purpose and meaning. Drawing from Scripture, philosophy, and lived experience, this book wrestles with life's deepest questions.
Signed first-edition copies available directly from Discussion Publishers PLC.
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Discussion Publishers Network