Fatherless upbringing inspires Makhadzi’s latest novel
Thohoyandou-born author, Makhadzi Lukhaimane, recently released a fascinating book titled When Fathers Leave which she expects will engross readers.
LIMPOPO – Lukhaimane said the book explores her relationship with her father from childhood until adulthood. “It revisits the seldom occasions we spent together, what transpired at every meeting and how it made me feel. It explores the events that led to the demise of our relationship and how his lack of interest in me made me feel and how it affected my outlook on life,” she added. “From me being too independent to not being able to allow myself to commit in relationships with men because I didn’t trust them. As well as how I am correcting the behaviours I acquired from being a daughter of an absent father and the person I hope to be someday.”
The idea to pen the book began in December 2016 after the death of her grandmother. “My father was not there to at least comfort me. It was actually the first time I realised just how my father and I were removed from one another.,” she explained.
“Children growing up without their fathers have become so common and normalised that we forget it is not how children should be raised. Fatherless children are made to feel as though growing up without their dad is normal, however, people don’t acknowledge the feelings of rejection and abandonment a fatherless child has,” she added.
“I hope that when single mothers read the book they will talk to their children about how their father’s absence makes them feel instead of assuming that because their child doesn’t say anything, it means they are okay with it. I also hope absent fathers will realise the impact their absence has on a child and the important role they have in raising their children. Although we cannot control whether someone chooses to love us or not, we need to ensure an absent person does not determine who or what we become because the experiences we go through as children mould the kind of adults we become.” She hopes to release another book early next year through her company, Mudobi Literature. ” I believe it is time to start writing stories about us, for us,” she said. Anyone interested in the book can send an e-mail to orders@whenfathersleave.co.za follow Makhadzi Lukhaimane on Facebook and laydeepinx on Instagram.
“I have various distributors in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Durban, Cape Town, Polokwane and Thohoyandou,” she said.
