Self-love, peace and the strength to overcome are what inspired a Gqeberha-born rape survivor and motivational speaker to publish her first book.
Through her book, titled Liberty from Trauma to Triumph, Geraldine Joy Wolmarans aims to help people facing internal trauma find the strength to seek help and heal.
Wolmarans said she hoped to offer healing, understanding and strength to readers and allow them reclaim their voice.
“Above all, may you find the courage to walk boldly in the liberty of Christ, knowing that you were never forgotten, never forsaken and never beyond restoration,” she said.
In the book, Wolmarans revisits a time when she lost her father, someone she considered her protector and provider.
She described the period after his death in the early 2000s as the darkest time of her life, where she sought comfort and warmth in her life from alcohol.
“In the northern areas, Bloemendal Extension, where I grew up and was once happy and excited about life, my days became dark,” she said.
“I was raped by 39 men, who left me to die, but I survived and woke up broken.“
Wolmarans then moved around to different provinces and towns, running away from what had happened, trying to survive, until she found herself in George.
While trying to forget about her past, Wolmarans got married, but was later divorced.
This pushed her to find healing for herself, her siblings and her daughter, and she joined a church and turned to Christianity.
She said this was where she found her voice, the strength to deal with her challenges, and after several years devoted her time to helping others find healing and became a motivational speaker.
Wolmarans now works at the George municipality as a refuse removal assistant.
The 50-year-old said being able to find employment in her late 40s was a blessing and proof that anyone was capable of achieving their goals if they applied their mind and worked on themselves.
She started working in the George municipality under the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and in 2022 she was permanently employed.
“What inspired me to write the book was to testify about the repetitive cycles of failed relationships and marriages, narcissistic abuse, childhood trauma and being gangraped that I had to heal from,” she said.
“I love to see people happy and live a fulfilled life in God which is my true happiness. This book is to console, comfort and give people strength.”
Wolmarans is studying towards a three-year human resources management diploma.
The book was published by Mzwandile Matiwaza of Incwadi Books, a Matiwaza Company Division, South Africa, and is selling for R200.
The Herald