Son of the Congo

Athanase Tshibaka’s world was torn apart at age three when his father died after a long battle with cancer, leaving behind a grieving widow and five children. He was the youngest—and life, as he knew it, would never be the same.

In the heart of the Congo, where poverty raged and tribal conflict threatened to consume everything, A.T.’s future should have been defined by loss. But God was writing a different story.

From near expulsion as a truant student to earning top honors at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, A.T.’s path defied every expectation. His journey unfolds through the shadows of bloody coup d’états, wrongful imprisonment, extortion, and boardroom intrigue—but also through the joys of love, fatherhood, career triumph, and unwavering faith.

Through it all, A.T. witnessed the quiet, miraculous hand of God—rescuing, redirecting, redeeming. His life became a testament to the truth that when we walk by faith, even the most broken roads can lead to divine destinations.

Son of the Congo is a sweeping, soul-stirring memoir spanning six continents and nearly eighty years. It’s a story of hardship transformed into hope, despair into purpose, and survival into sacred calling. You’ll come away inspired to believe again—that God is still in the business of turning ashes into beauty and the forgotten into the favored.