The debut novel, out now

Across the Street

A story written to inspire healing in the relationships that shape us most: between parents and children, old friends, and the people we used to be.

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Christian Hakiza smiling at the camera, holding an acoustic guitar in a room full of plants

About

Christian Hakiza

Christian Hakiza standing by a large window, holding an open book and looking outside

Christian Hakiza was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in an environment that offered little room for the abstract. What it gave him instead was the discovery that stories, the right ones, well told, could imprint on the mind, inspire change, and quietly remake a life.

He has been chasing that discovery ever since. Christian does not think of himself as a writer of any single genre. He writes whatever form best serves the story he is trying to tell. His debut novel, Across the Street, is literary fiction, a story written to inspire healing in the relationships that shape us most: between parents and children, between old friends, between the people we were and the people we have become. Upcoming projects include a series of fables exploring the power of our words, the strength of a hopeful outlook, and the practice of gratitude.

Across all of his work, the intention is the same: to write stories that inspire, comfort, teach, and encourage.

Across the Street is his first novel. He writes under the imprint Growth-Addicted Publishing.

Praise

What readers are saying

A quiet, profoundly moving literary debut that explores the silent spaces between who we were, who we are, and the families who shape us most.

Judy Collins, Goodreads

This novel, oh my goodness. It is so emotional and heart hitting... I cried most of the way through the novel because of the heartache of the story and of the many missing chances.

Paula Pugh, NetGalley reader

A beautiful composition of the expression of pain... One of Hakiza's best qualities as a writer is timely restraint, letting silence build more than what is said.

Harrison, Amazon review

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Books

Cover of Across the Street by Christian Hakiza

Across the Street

Literary fiction. 48 chapters. Set in Hollow Creek, Indiana.

Published July 29, 2026

"A stunningly assured, deeply moving literary debut from Christian Hakiza that acts as a gentle balm for the soul." (Judy Collins, Goodreads)

A debut novel for readers of Ann Patchett, Ann Napolitano, and William Kent Krueger. On a quiet street in a small lake town, Nori Holloway and Sophie Sloan grow up on opposite porches, carving a constitution of childhood rules into the wood of their lake dock: rules about honesty, about forgiveness, that they have no idea they will one day be asked to keep. Told across more than twenty years, Across the Street is a tender, decades-spanning novel about family, grief carried instead of faced, and the patient work of forgiveness: given, received, asked for, and finally passed down to the next generation.

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Fables series

Coming soon. A series of fables exploring the power of our words, the strength of a hopeful outlook, and the practice of gratitude.

Blog

From the Blog

I'm writing an ongoing series of fables, short stories, each paired with the lesson behind it. New ones are published regularly on my Substack, Elite Growth Forum.

Read on Substack

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Stay in touch

Join the list for updates on new releases, fables, and the occasional behind-the-scenes note. You can also reach me directly at christian@christianhakiza.com.