Book Review: Invictus: Dark Faith

Reviewed by Eric Mayrhofer

A stirring meditation on the history that shapes us—a memoir built on solidarity, conviction, and faith

More than a few times in Invictus: Dark Faith, author William A. Blakey recognizes with knife-sharp clarity that an event in his life “was a turning point.” The repetition of that phrase feels like a redundancy at first—but it turns out of be kind of the point.

Blakey’s repetition here carries an important profundity. After all, the opening sentences of the book read, “Who I am, where I come from, and the life I have built started years before I was born.” Those two phrases make the crux of this memoir: that the history of our lives—the decisions that came before us, that resulted in us, that have consequences in our lives and the lives of others—is something to be honored.

With Invictus, Blakey honors his history beautifully.

In following Blakey’s life from before he was born—literally his parents’ first meeting—the book opens with a bang. Blakey portrays his mother’s fear as she’s stalked by a neighborhood troublemaker and how she meets her future husband trying to escape. Despite not having the words to fend off her would-be attacker, Blakey’s father stands by her, and as their love blossoms, his father realizes, “his path would be different. He would be the man his father hadn’t been—responsible, present, and dedicated to his family.”

That transition from breathtaking suspense to romantic tenderness is almost unnoticeably subtle, and those smoothly rolling levels are consistently present throughout Invictus.

For instance, Blakey takes readers from his parents’ early romance to the hardhearted love of his violent brother Mitch’s training in the next chapter. The juxtaposition of these two types of affection, one marked by a decision to be better, one marked by “a twisted way of teaching us toughness,” helps readers see two major influences that blend together in Blakey’s mind and teach him “the value of brotherhood and the importance of standing up for what’s right.” By gently stirring them together, the book shows readers how they influence Blakey’s later choices, but throughout, the discerning reader will see that Blakey maintains his individuality, even as his convictions may have been formed well before he was born.

Even as he becomes an internationally successful entertainment and business development professional, he doesn’t let politics or personal gains mar his convictions. When faced with having to sacrifice years of hard, for example, he says, “I see those experiences as a testament to resilience and integrity—staying true to my values, even when the odds were stacked against me from the start.”

Invictus: Dark Faith is an inspirational story that gives readers a roadmap for carrying the best lessons of the past forward and using them to create lives they can be proud of.

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