By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
In a candid and introspective debut, broadcaster and media personality Tendayi Chakanyuka—known to radio listeners as The Sweet Thang—steps away from the microphone and onto the page with her first book — “The Sweet Thaang . . .It’s An Attitude” — an autobiography chronicling her life, lessons, and misunderstood moniker.
The memoir, she explains, is more than just a recollection of events. It is an attempt to demystify a name that has followed her throughout her broadcasting career—a name that evokes both curiosity and discomfort.
“Even now, I still get people asking me, what is Sweet Thing?” she says, visibly cringing. “I hate being called Sweet Thing.”
The name, originally chosen for radio, resonated with her deeply at the time. But as years went by, it took on meanings and assumptions she never intended.
Her autobiography becomes a space to reclaim that identity—on her terms.
“I think one of the reasons I also sat down to pen this autobiography was probably to try and explain the meaning of that radio name . . . how it came about, and how it immediately spoke to me.”
Chakanyuka takes readers on a journey through the spaces she has occupied—from childhood to professional settings—showing how a particular attitude, the same one that birthed The Sweet Thang, has quietly guided her path.
But don’t expect a preachy tome. For Tendayi, the lessons she’s learned aren’t universal truths but deeply personal reflections.
“These are my lessons. It may not be the same for everybody… Hopefully, they also will inspire somebody and will be lessons for somebody else.”
As she opens the door into her life, Chakanyuka offers more than just a biography—she delivers a mirror, inviting readers to reflect on their own identities, journeys, and perhaps, the names they carry.
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