Cape Town - Surainda Juries Philander is publishing her first ever book at the end of Women’s Month.
The name of the book is My Toekoms van Gister. The author was born and raised in Graaff-Reinet in the Great Karoo.
After completing her studies in teaching in the Eastern Cape, because of lack of job opportunities, she relocated to Johannesburg where she met her husband.
In 2014, after having spent 14 years in Joburg, she moved to Cape Town with her husband.
“I always had a love of reading romance novels, my love for reading ignited a passion for writing and I managed to fulfil my dream of writing my own romance novel,” she said.
My Toekoms van Gister is her first completed book and she is currently working on her second novel.
She said she always wanted to write but lacked the courage to do so.
In December last year, she contracted Covid-19 and this was a very challenging time for her.
“I saw my survival of this virus as a second chance in life, granted to her by God, and I had a different outlook on life and my priorities changed drastically.”
She said she came to the realisation that life is short, and one must make the best of every day, and that is then she decided to pursue her dream of writing romantic novels.
Philander said she regards writing as a therapeutic activity that helps her to deal with her own emotions, and a way for her to escape reality and be in her own safe world.
She said the book is about a woman, Monica Hartzenberg, who is trapped in a marriage where she is not valued by her husband, and the fact that she was infertile damaged her self-confidence and made her feel less of a woman.
She said the character suffers from emotional and psychological abuse at the hand of her husband, and always tried to put her husband’s needs above hers.
“She felt so terribly guilty and responsible for the fact that they had no children, and took her infertility very personal and regarded it as an injustice to her husband and marriage,” said Philander.
She said Monica’s worst nightmare becomes true when her marriage of 10 years ends because of her infertility and her husband’s infidelity.
She said like Monica, childlessness was always a sensitive issue for her, and she was also affected by pain and heartache she experienced.
Philander encourages every individual who is stuck in an unfulfilled and unhappy relationship to be inspired by this book.
“If you find yourself in a situation where your worth and value is not being appreciated, take control of your life, take back your life,” she said.
She said the theme of the book complements Women’s Month, and it is priced at R200 excluding postage.
Interested individuals can email the author at [email protected] to place their orders and banking details would be provided via email.
Weekend Argus