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Tembisa author on what inspired her new book on women’s experiences with pain

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Shamil Mackay. (Photo: Shamil Mackay Facebook)
Shamil Mackay. (Photo: Shamil Mackay Facebook)

Author Shamil Mackay says women should stop acting like they’re happy when they’re actually dying inside.

Shamil who is a preacher and motivational speaker says she has managed to be a shoulder to cry on for women who are going through a rough patch. She has now taken all those stories and compiled them into a book called Dear Counsellor.

 “I’m a minister of the word and they would come to me for advice and prayer,” she explains. She says these women came to her lacking confidence and with a low self-esteem due to circumstances they find themselves in.

The true lived experiences of these women inspired her to write the book so that even though women she can’t reach can finding healing in this book.

She reveals that she knows and understands the pain of these women in her church, community and wherever she ministers the word of God because she’s had her fair share difficulties.

Shamil, who was raised by a single parent says her romantic relationships proved problematic. She wouldn’t last for a substantial time with her boyfriends. She wondered why that was happening and the answer was in front of her eye.

“I grew up without my father. My relationships would never last because I was looking for someone to fill that void. I never loved myself and whatever a man did I would just accept it. I wouldn’t know better because I had nothing to compare it to, I didn’t know how a man should love a woman,” she explains.

Another major thing she struggled with was finding her feet in this world. She says after passing her matric she wanted to figure who she was.

“After high school I sat down and figured what I really wanted. I didn’t go to varsity. I was trying to discover myself before getting into tertiary. I felt like we’re doing things because of peer pressure,” she says.

The 24-year-old is cognisant of the fact that she’s young and some people will think she’s not experienced enough to dish out advice.

“I know I’m still young but I have been through stuff. I want to tell women that it’s never too late to start over,” she says.

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