Episode #9: Identity, Belonging, and the Quiet Work of Healing with My Brother Tatenda

From Circling Back - Stories From The Soul by Breaking Barriers, Sharing Raw Emotions, And Celebrating The Journey To Growth.

December 4, 2025 · 47 min

About this episode

The episode explores deep conversations about identity and belonging through the lens of the host's relationship with his brother Tatenda, touching on themes of race and personal growth.

Some conversations don’t just give you insight — they give you language for things you’ve felt your entire life. My conversation with my brother, Tatenda, was one of those. We sat down intending to talk about hospitality, entrepreneurship, and the restaurant he now co-owns in Beaune in central France And yes, we spoke about all of that — the years in Switzerland, the job disappointments because he held a Zimbabwean passport, the moments of exclusion, and the quiet pride of building something from nothing. But very quickly, the conversation shifted into deeper territory.Because beneath the story of a restaurant was another story entirely.A story about identity.About race.About belonging.About the versions of ourselves we construct in order to survive. Tatenda shared what it felt like to grow up black, African, privileged, and yet still be treated as “less than” — not overtly, but subtly, almost invisibly. Those moments that lodge themselves in the psyche. The memory of being one of only a few black children in private school classrooms. The coded language. The expectation to sound “a certain way”. The unspoken hierarchy.The need to fit in while knowing you never fully would. And…

People in this episode

Host: Tariro Mundawarara

Guest: Tatenda

Topics covered

identity
belonging
healing
race
entrepreneurship

Keywords

hospitality
restaurant
Zimbabwean passport
exclusion
achievement

Mentioned in this episode

Products: restaurant

Places: Beaune, France, Switzerland