On a cool Wednesday evening on the 20th day of October 2021, at the Wan-Shi Gardens nestled between residential buildings in Asylum Down, a masterful literary piece was born that adds to the corpus of biographical works that we all scramble to read.

This one, though, was not 'just another book' taking us down memory lane and into the deepest recesses of a man's life; it was a colourful exploration of a life well lived that still is being lived - a life that has godly faith as its fulcrum.

Memoirs, strictly speaking, are a different kettle of fish - different from other narrative pieces because they reflect real-life experiences which, while exciting to the authors themselves or those who may have heard their tales of great exploits, sometimes tend to be poorly written and dour, thus losing the flavour of excitement and appeal which would arrest the interest of readers - compared to other genres of writing, that is.

This work, 'Memoirs From The Hilltop: Stories and Lessons from the School of Life,' is a refreshing departure from this humdrum cycle which we are more often than not subjected to.

Little wonder, then, that Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, a former Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana who currently is a member of the Council of State, pays such a glowing tribute to the work when she writes in its foreword about how the story of Kofi's life is "chronicled in a most fascinating way."

This work is a page-turner with 383 pages of twists and turns that carry you along, willy-nilly, like the waves of a turbulent ocean.

It could easily pass for a cinematic thriller that weaves through the various facets of Kofi Otutu Adu Labi's seventy-year sojourn here on earth - from his humble beginnings in the Eastern-regional town of Akwatia, the place of his birth, to the current moment.

It is like the Fast and Furious movie franchise: fast-paced when he broaches some subjects and happenings in his life; yet at the same time, the author decelerates - for example when sharing some examples of the power and workings of God in His life - deliberately doing so to allow readers to fully soak the striking messages therein.

This work, like a sharp knife, carves out the multifarious layers of a man who has striven for and continues to pursue good in every way he can.

It points unrepentantly to that potent triad spurring him on to victory in life: God, first - Kofi's Pillar, his Everything; then his family - his earthly backbone; and, finally, work - both in and outside of the church.

These are the overarching threads that run through his life and which are encapsulated in this well-crafted memoir which the author himself describes as serving to "celebrate God's grace, love and mercy in my life, in the firm expectation that you, the reader, will be inspired and empowered for greater works."

Kofi Otutu Adu Labi reinforces this three-pronged focus of his life when he writes, "Church and family life have been central to my whole life and I have many memories to share in these areas. I look back with satisfaction in the various ways in which I contributed, and still contribute, to the work of the Church."

All in all, this 383-page work is, indeed, a literary work of art that truly inspires and gives encouragement, not just to the young but even to the old, too, as we walk in faith and bask in the love of God - through our service to humanity in all the ways to which our Master has called us.

It is a must-read for anyone who wishes to learn from one who has been there, done that, and continues to serve in all humility - for God and country!

Former Chief Justice and current member of the Council of State, Georgina Theodora Wood, chaired the book launch on the 20th of October. She also penned the foreword.

Also in attendance were other luminaries such as Dr Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, who launched the book; Reverend Father Andrew Campbell, who performed the dedication of the book, and; Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, a former President of the Ghana Association of Writers and a past chairman of the National Media Commission.

Copies of the book can be secured at Kingdom Bookshop on the University of Ghana campus, Legon; the Head Office of the Kingdom Bookshop, around the Ako Adjei interchange; the Scripture Union Tower at North Ridge; the Challenge Bookshop; EPP Bookshop, Legon; Airport Shell and; at the Pan-African Writers' Association (PAWA) House in Roman Ridge. Copies are also available on Amazon. The retail price of the book is GHS 150.