South Africa’s high rate of gender-based violence and abuse against women and children is currently at an alarming peak. This book offers an unexpectedly powerful source of inspiration thanks to the brave voice of a girl who had to endure more than anyone can reasonably be expected to endure.

This remarkable true story tells of the lived experiences of a woman who repeatedly had to suffer abuse at the hands of her closest family members. As the victim, she speaks with brutal honesty and directness. This is the harrowing story of how she had to live in a nightmarish world. Ordinary community members from social workers, members of the police, medical staff and even church members all became part of a psychologically twisted mother’s plot to inflict ongoing abuse against her own daughter. Everyone seemed to turn their back on her.

Due to the endless string of abuse perpetrated by this community, all names in the book and that of the author were changed. In this way, the unfolding story speaks on a universal level  - and to an even wider circle. Every one of us who is aware of a community member inflicting abuse on another, becomes complicit, if we do not speak out and protect the victim. Our communities have been insidiously protecting the perpetrators of abuse against the vulnerable and the weak. African traditional dispute resolution systems seem to fail the abused.

Miraculously, despite the continuous waves of onslaught of childhood abuse and setbacks, the author shows her resilient spirit by empowering herself through education. Our heroine eventually obtains a PhD degree and turns her life around, to emerge victoriously – and to bravely tell a difficult story of true grit and inspiration.