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“I Am Not Yvonne Nelson,” a book by actress and movie producer Yvonne Nelson, captured the attention of Ghana in less than 24 hours after its release.
In a chapter mainly about masculinity and female marginalization dubbed “A Man’s World,” the actress revealed how Joel Duncan-Williams, the son of Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, approached her with a marriage proposal in a rather dramatic way that ended before it even started.
“In 2009, while I was on set shooting The Prince’s, I received a visitor. He was not my visitor, as he had come to see someone else. However, by the end of his visit, I turned out to matter more to him than the person he had come to see. This visitor, if I should call him that because of the retinue of security guards he moved with, derived his influence from the surname he carried. His name is Joel Duncan-Williams, the son of the founder and leader of Action Faith Chapel International, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams. Until that day, I hadn’t known or heard about him, but I couldn’t fail to notice his imposing presence when he showed up. Before he left the movie set, he said he had fallen in love with me,” she wrote.
While she remained unsure about his proposal, the son of the archbishop went to great lengths to prove the seriousness of his love by bringing her lunch on set accompanied by his heavy security escort in a mini-convoy.
“While I was still unsure of what to tell him, his plans for marriage were far advanced. But something abruptly ended our friendship before it had the slimmest probability of developing further. He paid me a visit one evening with the usual princely entourage that I had only seen in movies featuring non-state officials. When the howling of his motorcade’s siren had adequately announced to the neighborhood that an important somebody had arrived at my household, he came in and announced his plans. He said that before the marriage could proceed, I had to go to his father to be prayed for. The purpose of that prayer was to ensure that any demons or evil spirits present in me or my family line would be cast out,” she narrated.
Seemingly incensed by the condition precedent set out by the archbishop’s son for a marriage proposal, Yvonne Nelson, while describing her household as a spiritual one, said his sense of entitlement ended her interest in any such possible relationship.
“In my head, I asked whether he didn’t think my mother also needed to pray to cast out any potential bad spirits in him. Being the son of Archbishop Duncan-Williams didn’t necessarily mean he was inhabited by the Holy Spirit and guarded by angels. And who told him that being an actress meant that I was a harbinger of malevolent spirits? At least, those who lived in our area would testify that the Manovia household used to be one of the most religious households around.
“My mother’s sense of spirituality heightened after a motor accident she was involved in, and it was rare to miss morning devotion in our house. Those were the times, in my teenage years, I used to interrupt prayer sessions with revelations from God. When I started my acting career, I made it a point to always pray before I started any movie role I was given.
“I am not one of those who wear their religion on their sleeves, but I believe in God and believe in prayers. I have seen the hand of God in my affairs many times, and I have no doubt He comes through for me when I call on Him. I don’t believe in just big pastors or men of God, some of whom are nothing short of entrepreneurs. Therefore, I found it funny that someone who was interested in marrying me and hadn’t secured my consent thought I needed to be spiritually cleansed even before he proceeded. He didn’t see the need for that cleansing to be mutual,” she said.
About Yvonne Nelson’s book
“I Am Not Yvonne Nelson” is an explosive and riveting account of a young woman who sets out to discover herself but finds out that she has been living with a false identity.
The drama and the twists and turns of this moving story have all the markings of a spellbinding movie script, except that the protagonist, who is an actor, is contending with a reality that intermittently soaks her pillow with tears.
Uncharacteristic of an autobiography, the author comes to her audience stark naked. The book opens the door widely into the life of the author and exposes the good, the bad, and the ugly sides, not only of her life but also of the make-believe world of celebrities.
The launch was graced by many industry stalwarts, businessmen, and politicians, including John Dumelo, Adjetey Anang, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, and Becca. Also present were media personalities, including Manasseh Azure Awuni, Sammy Forson, and GhanaWeb Entertainment Editor Abrantepa Benefo Buabeng.
