WASHINGTON, DC – It is the story that permeates the whole developing world: the best and brightest of their young citizens enroll in colleges across North America and Europe, and most of them do not return to their homelands. Gavin Hutchinson was one of the few who did. In 2006, the then 23-year-old was adamant about returning to the land of his birth, despite acquiring permanent residency status in the United States during his tenure at a Florida university.
“It was my duty to give the energy of my youth to Jamaica,” said Hutchinson, and that was exactly what he did. Half a decade later, he has a very compelling story to share with anyone willing to listen, or anyone willing to read.
Writing as his pseudonym – Dutty Bookman – the now 28-year-old has released a memoir called Tried & True: Revelations of a Rebellious Youth.
The book details his journey from being an energetic idealist to an exhausted one, and the myriad of experiences he endured along the way.
Tried & True unveils the gamut of Dutty’s emotions as he found himself in unimaginable situations: being on national radio (NewsTalk 93FM) as a weekly talk show host, juggling that with his now defunct social website (IdlerzLounge.com); working for the family of Reggae icon, Bob Marley; planning the inaugural Ignite The Americas youth arts forum, an event in Toronto, Canada that was sanctioned by the Organization of American States (OAS); collaborating closely with new Reggae sensation, Protoje; and launching the non-profit organization, Manifesto|Jamaica, to empower Jamaica’s youth through arts and culture.
“I wrote Tried & True because I want young people to know that the best way to make a contribution to society is by being responsible for themselves,” said Bookman. “Through my own life I learned that it is important to simply be true to myself without doing harm to others and to just try.”
