South African author
Two books. One interest: what happens to ordinary people when circumstances force them into extraordinary situations.
Bipolar, clinical depression and dyspraxia walk into a bar...
A brutally honest, darkly humorous memoir of severe clinical depression, bipolar disorder, dyspraxia, anxiety, hospitalisation, addiction, loss and recovery. Amazon #1 New Release and Pick of the Week — first published 2018, updated 2026.
Buy on Amazon
A courtroom thriller exposing the moral cost of obedience in war
A military courtroom psychological thriller about duty versus conscience — and who bears responsibility when soldiers are ordered to do the unthinkable. Drawn from research and Cal’s own military service.
Buy on AmazonCal Kennedy is a South African author whose career has taken him from broadcasting and television production to the world of international live events — and, eventually, to writing two books — so far.
For more than four decades, Cal has worked in broadcasting, communications, event production, leadership and management. As founder of Luminon Special Events in 1987, he produced more than 1,000 corporate and government events, including official ceremonies and special events for the Presidency of South Africa during Nelson Mandela's administration. His company was awarded the Presidential Sports Award for Productions of Outstanding Excellence.
But Cal's greatest stories are not necessarily found in his professional achievements.
His first book, I'm the Patient, Not the Shrink!, came from one of the most difficult periods of his life. Published in 2018 and re-released and updated in 2026, the memoir is a brutally honest and often darkly humorous account of severe clinical depression, bipolar disorder, dyspraxia, anxiety, hospitalisation, addiction, loss and recovery. It became an Amazon #1 New Release and Amazon Pick of the Week.
His second book, Compelled to Kill, takes him into very different territory. This military courtroom psychological thriller explores the moral consequences of war, the conflict between duty and conscience, and the question of who ultimately bears responsibility when soldiers are ordered to do the unthinkable. Drawing on extensive research and Cal's own experience of military service, the novel examines what happens when obedience and personal responsibility collide.
Although the two books could hardly be more different, they share something fundamental: an interest in what happens to ordinary people when circumstances force them into extraordinary situations.
Cal believes that good stories should do more than entertain. They should make us think, challenge what we believe, and perhaps help us understand ourselves — and other people — a little better.
“To stop learning is to start dying.”
— Cal Kennedy
