Fabulous reads: HIV activist shares positivity with honest memoir
Book overview - Positively Me by Nozibele Mayaba
Positively Me, Nozibele Mayaba, Jonathan Ball Publishers, ISBN: 9781776193387
Born in Qgeberha in the 1990s, popular Aids activist Nozibele Mayaba’s upbringing was one of struggle and strife. She was raised by the tough hand of her mother in the confines of a strict Christian household. Nozibele strove to be the ‘good girl’ that everyone adores to win her mother’s approval and the affection of her absent father.
She lived by the book and was steered by her faith. Hers becomes a life of firsts. She is the first person in her family to travel overseas. The first to graduate from university. It is also her first love, with his infectious smile that infected her with HIV. This diagnosis throws her life into disarray. Fearing stigma and feeling the need to maintain her ‘good girl’ image, she kept her status a secret. However, she soon succumbed to depression. It is in the aftermath, when she picks up the broken pieces of her life, that she finds purpose in all the pain she has endured.
She went public with her story in a video that when viral and launched her onto a new path. Nozibele, who has since gotten married and recently became a mother, has made it her mission to hold open conversations about her journey living with HIV.
Told with gut-wrenching honesty, Nozibele is at her most vulnerable in this brave account about what it means to live and love beyond HIV.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nozibele Maya is an HIV activist, internationally recognised podcaster, speaker and TV host. She recently partnered with Jacaranda FM and East Coast Radio to launch a youth podcast, Don’t Hold Back, Say It Loud. Her TV show, #YesIHaveHIV on HONEY, DStv channel 173, has helped many to disclose their HIV statuses to their loved ones. It’s currently in its second season.
Sue Nyathi is an analyst by profession and a writer by passion. She has authored four critically acclaimed novels, including The Gold Diggers and A Family Affair and also edited a non-fiction anthology, When Secrets Become Stories: Women Speak Out.
