Mark Obama Desanjo Gives his First Interview About Brother Barack Obama, and Father's Abuse
KING: It is a pleasure to welcome to LARRY KING LIVE, coming to us from Hong Kong, Mark Obama Ndesandjo. He is President Obama's half- brother. He has just published a new autobiographical novel, "Nairobi to Shenzhen." Mark, you have kept out of the spotlight for so long. Why now?</s>OBAMA NDESANDJO: What happened is, that over the past few years, with the extraordinary events, I had come to a sort of re-evaluation of many things in my life which were very moving - and things which I had shut out of my life for a long time started to come together. You know, I think sometimes -- I hear your question, and I go back, and I think sometimes I hear as, you know, "What prepared you for writing this book?" or "Where does this book come from?" And sometimes you ask yourself, "Why? Why now?" And I think life prepares you for -- life prepared me for this book. I have lived in -- I have been through so many experiences. I have lived in China, in America. I was raised in Kenya. And coming from a multiracial family, also being exposed to different religions, different people -- and I think what happens is when you write a book, certain things - you think -- I started this book actually 10 years ago. And at that time it didn't -- there were things that were not true, that did not seem to come together. And then, I think what happens in every person's life, there's a point when things come together and you just know that it's time to -- it's time to finish the book, and it's time to actually have something...</s>KING: I got you.</s>NDESANDJO: ... that you can call your own.</s>KING: Mark, as your brother related in his memoir "Dreams From My Father," President Obama's life was shaped by his father's absence and impressions he formed of him from others. You have the same father. Barack Obama was asked about this in a Q & A with students in September. Listen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Brandon. I was wondering, you said that your father wasn't really in your life. That is kind of like me. My parents were divorced.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But how do you think your life would have been different if he would have been there for you?</s>PRESIDENT OBAMA: He was a very, very smart man. He was sort of arrogant and kind of overbearing, and he had his own problems and his own issues. So my mother always used to say that if he had been around, I probably would have been having a lot of arguments with him all the time.</s>KING: Since your book obviously deals -- while a novel -- with things that happened in real life, as you have already explained, first, do you talk to your brother, the president, a lot?</s>NDESANDJO: Let me just share with you one thing, and that is -- getting back to your question, what I just heard. I think one thing is that I heard the boy ask about my father, and it was interesting -- it was good to hear, you know. This is the first time I had actually heard that particular clip. But it makes me think -- it makes me think of the book and the focus, you know, the focus of my thoughts right now have really been around the book. And I just wanted to share really quickly, Larry, with your audience that the focus of the book is not so much my brother Barack. It's not so much me. The novel is a work of fiction. The three messages that I really wanted to bring out in this book is to raise an awareness of domestic violence -- but not just that -- also the power and the beauty of a very American dream of being able to start from scratch. You've lost your job, you don't know where you're going, and you can actually start again. And the third one that I really hope this book can actually bring out is the power and the spirit of service, the ability to volunteer and to actually spend five minutes --not just talk about it -- but actually do something. These are three messages that -- regardless of the reflections of my life or of my brother's life or of my family's life -- these are the important things, and that is what I wanted to share. I think one thing is that I'm in contact with not just my brother, but also my family. And -- but I think these themes are not just about the Obama family. The goal was really to share this -- these are themes which run across all countries, across all regions, all religions. And the important thing is that for a long time I put a lot of things in my mind. I closed them out, and this could be -- maybe it is a cultural thing. Maybe it is -- maybe there are other reasons, but I think what happens is that I know that when I was a child -- and I am speaking for myself, and once again, the novel is a work of fiction -- is that I encountered things that I did not want anyone else to encounter. And I hope that will work into a global message. For the audience, the book is a novel, and it is a novel based -- which has strong parallels with my life and my experiences.</s>KING: Hold it right there, Mark. Let me get a break, and we will come right back. We will talk about domestic violence in your life. First, this.