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Our Triumph: Surviving the trauma
This is the story of Tseko, the Moahloli's problem child, and how she claws her way out of the dark abyss she was thrown into by her father. She has always been abrasive when it came to male attention directed at her. She found solace in a long distance relationship started on the web. In saunters Tankiso with his charm and good looks but Tseko won’t let herself go there. Nagged by a fear that lurks in the dark crevices of her mind she convinces herself that Tankiso is married but this does not do anything to discourage her heart or the attachment that has already developed between them. What will she do? Will she ignore her heart and choose safety in the form of Khalid, the man living on the other side of the continent or will she take a chance at happiness in the beckoning arms of Tankiso?
192 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2018
4 people want to read
About the author
Tumelo Moleleki
21 books64 followersI am a #selfpublished author of 15 books
Growing up, I played diketo and made toys with clay. I played with both sexes, when minding the cattle I would play boys games and when fetching water or firewood or doing laundry down the ravine I would play girls games. I was born in the now Gauteng province but being a black person, I was not allowed to be registered as having been born there so I was registered as having been born in the district of Mount Fletcher.
I had a normal childhood for one raised in the bundus and I loved my life. My grandmother is my mother and my mother is my sister, that is how it was and that is how it remains in my psyche.
I started school at the age of 5, my best friends were my cousin and a girl who lived with my aunt-in-law.
My grandmother was rather strict, did not like us going to people's homes, even relatives. She was so dignified, everyone in the village respected her in a way that spoke of a respect that is inspired by the dignity one possesses. We were considered one of the more fortunate families.
I was teased a lot for my dark skin and my 'English nose'. I was told that I was ugly by just about everyone with the exception of those who loved me enough to see beauty in me.
I am still psychologically messed up from the taunts I suffered at the hands of other children and I cry sometimes when I think about them.
When I was in my teens I was sent to live with my aunt because my grandmother did not want to send me to boarding school and there were no high schools nearby.
While living with my aunt, I suffered a great deal of racial hatred from the community where my aunt lived. I was spat on and beat up. I was mocked further about my darkness and ridiculed for resembling boys. I was even put in a boys ward when I was admitted in a private clinic to have my tonsils removed. The mistake was later corrected but not before I had suffered the trauma of being in a hospital gown with a gaping back and no underwear in the boy's ward. God was my only protection because I might have been attacked but I was not.
I struggled for the right to do normal Math at school because I was deemed too stupid to handle it by the teachers of the model c school that was supposed to be the place where I got better education. I struggled to get my ID and struggled also to get my tertiary education going. I struggled to make it up the corporate ladder and I struggled to get published. My life is a series of struggles.
I started my degree via correspondence while working as a consultant and completed it after six years. I failed along the way because sometimes work had to take priority over studies since it was the means by which I could undertake those studies.
I take nothing for granted in my life because I had to fight for it all. I am eternally grateful to those who offer me genuine support and those who refrain from using me. As a young person I grappled with my disease to please syndrome. I no longer care that people think I am black and ugly, I know that those who love me find me beautiful and perhaps one day I shall stop seeing myself through the eyes of those who saw ugly when they saw me. For now, the love of a man from Algeria is healing my self-esteem issues because it proves once and for all that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I have made many acquaintances in my life and God has been there for me always.
Side note: I grew up not knowing my father so I am partial to women because they are the ones who have been there for me all my life.
Growing up, I played diketo and made toys with clay. I played with both sexes, when minding the cattle I would play boys games and when fetching water or firewood or doing laundry down the ravine I would play girls games. I was born in the now Gauteng province but being a black person, I was not allowed to be registered as having been born there so I was registered as having been born in the district of Mount Fletcher.
I had a normal childhood for one raised in the bundus and I loved my life. My grandmother is my mother and my mother is my sister, that is how it was and that is how it remains in my psyche.
I started school at the age of 5, my best friends were my cousin and a girl who lived with my aunt-in-law.
My grandmother was rather strict, did not like us going to people's homes, even relatives. She was so dignified, everyone in the village respected her in a way that spoke of a respect that is inspired by the dignity one possesses. We were considered one of the more fortunate families.
I was teased a lot for my dark skin and my 'English nose'. I was told that I was ugly by just about everyone with the exception of those who loved me enough to see beauty in me.
I am still psychologically messed up from the taunts I suffered at the hands of other children and I cry sometimes when I think about them.
When I was in my teens I was sent to live with my aunt because my grandmother did not want to send me to boarding school and there were no high schools nearby.
While living with my aunt, I suffered a great deal of racial hatred from the community where my aunt lived. I was spat on and beat up. I was mocked further about my darkness and ridiculed for resembling boys. I was even put in a boys ward when I was admitted in a private clinic to have my tonsils removed. The mistake was later corrected but not before I had suffered the trauma of being in a hospital gown with a gaping back and no underwear in the boy's ward. God was my only protection because I might have been attacked but I was not.
I struggled for the right to do normal Math at school because I was deemed too stupid to handle it by the teachers of the model c school that was supposed to be the place where I got better education. I struggled to get my ID and struggled also to get my tertiary education going. I struggled to make it up the corporate ladder and I struggled to get published. My life is a series of struggles.
I started my degree via correspondence while working as a consultant and completed it after six years. I failed along the way because sometimes work had to take priority over studies since it was the means by which I could undertake those studies.
I take nothing for granted in my life because I had to fight for it all. I am eternally grateful to those who offer me genuine support and those who refrain from using me. As a young person I grappled with my disease to please syndrome. I no longer care that people think I am black and ugly, I know that those who love me find me beautiful and perhaps one day I shall stop seeing myself through the eyes of those who saw ugly when they saw me. For now, the love of a man from Algeria is healing my self-esteem issues because it proves once and for all that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I have made many acquaintances in my life and God has been there for me always.
Side note: I grew up not knowing my father so I am partial to women because they are the ones who have been there for me all my life.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 30, 2021
When I ordered the series, I thought it was 3 books, only when I received it that I realised it's 4. So all sisters got their spot from each series.
This is a story of Tseko. In the whole series, she has been a 'problem child'. She was full of anger, justified though. Her father's infedility caused her to fall for a guy and later found out they were related. It was too late because she was already pregnant. How does one come out of this and be expected to be the same again?
In this series, we find her seeking help from professionals and her lack of interest in men being one of her main issues. After what she went through, she was scared of falling for any guy as she was not sure how many kids his father had which might result to history repeating itself. She found herself falling for Khalid, a Muslim guy from a language learning website. After four years of online interactions, attention and affection, she met another man who distracted her so much that her relationship with Khalid suffered. So she had to make a decision, one had to leave. Khalid has been there and has never let her down but the problem is, it's an online relationship and they are 1000 miles apart while Tankiso is physically available.
We also finally learn of all the shenanigans, Lefa, her father has done. He did not just mess up Tseko's life but almost all her kids, known and unknown, tasted the pain caused by this old man. We find him confessing, it's disgusting... Another isoka lamanyala.
But one thing about his offspring, they decided to embrace one another. He is the lonely man surrounded by very tight relations from his kids. This brought all different cultures within this one family. Everyone wishes their father's shenanigans would not repeat in anyone of them or their kids because they have seen what it has caused.
The book has themes like, cross cultural relations, racism, infedility, love, betrayal etc.
Still, Tumelo here managed to keep her calm nature to deliver this offering. She ensured that we learn about the baSotho culture and of those that are close to this family, which include French and isiXhosa. She managed to involve the kids in the story as characters that had a role to play other than just being mentioned as kids by their name. It was nice watch them grow. They talk and as a reader you learn to create your own image of who and what they are.
Knowing ones language and ensuring the kids know their homelanguage was one of the important things the author shared in this book.
Thanks Tumelo, it's been a journey for me in this series. I remember the girls before they even found love and I stayed with them till they had teenage children. It's been a great ride.. I thought 'Malefa would have died by now, she is really hanging in there.
This is a story of Tseko. In the whole series, she has been a 'problem child'. She was full of anger, justified though. Her father's infedility caused her to fall for a guy and later found out they were related. It was too late because she was already pregnant. How does one come out of this and be expected to be the same again?
In this series, we find her seeking help from professionals and her lack of interest in men being one of her main issues. After what she went through, she was scared of falling for any guy as she was not sure how many kids his father had which might result to history repeating itself. She found herself falling for Khalid, a Muslim guy from a language learning website. After four years of online interactions, attention and affection, she met another man who distracted her so much that her relationship with Khalid suffered. So she had to make a decision, one had to leave. Khalid has been there and has never let her down but the problem is, it's an online relationship and they are 1000 miles apart while Tankiso is physically available.
We also finally learn of all the shenanigans, Lefa, her father has done. He did not just mess up Tseko's life but almost all her kids, known and unknown, tasted the pain caused by this old man. We find him confessing, it's disgusting... Another isoka lamanyala.
But one thing about his offspring, they decided to embrace one another. He is the lonely man surrounded by very tight relations from his kids. This brought all different cultures within this one family. Everyone wishes their father's shenanigans would not repeat in anyone of them or their kids because they have seen what it has caused.
The book has themes like, cross cultural relations, racism, infedility, love, betrayal etc.
Still, Tumelo here managed to keep her calm nature to deliver this offering. She ensured that we learn about the baSotho culture and of those that are close to this family, which include French and isiXhosa. She managed to involve the kids in the story as characters that had a role to play other than just being mentioned as kids by their name. It was nice watch them grow. They talk and as a reader you learn to create your own image of who and what they are.
Knowing ones language and ensuring the kids know their homelanguage was one of the important things the author shared in this book.
Thanks Tumelo, it's been a journey for me in this series. I remember the girls before they even found love and I stayed with them till they had teenage children. It's been a great ride.. I thought 'Malefa would have died by now, she is really hanging in there.
October 31, 2021
Oh what a memorable journey it’s been with the Moahloli family, they have definitely left a lasting impression on me!!
The saying that “there’s light at the end of the tunnel” rings true in this final book of the Her Heart series. We finally get to see the Moahloli family dealing with past traumas, forgiving each other and forging new relationships. The “trouble child-Tseko” finally get a chance at happiness and forms stronger bonds with her sisters.
The saying that “there’s light at the end of the tunnel” rings true in this final book of the Her Heart series. We finally get to see the Moahloli family dealing with past traumas, forgiving each other and forging new relationships. The “trouble child-Tseko” finally get a chance at happiness and forms stronger bonds with her sisters.
May 23, 2021
When my sister brought me the book, I looked at the thickness and I thought "umh, it's gonna take me a while to finish." But the moment I started reading I couldn't put it down. It doesn't meander, it moves forward, and I finished it in a matter of few hours (all 190 pages).
I won't include any spoilers in this review. All I can say is, it really is a good read.
I won't include any spoilers in this review. All I can say is, it really is a good read.
January 7, 2026
The book dives deep into Tseko’s emotional world, and it’s one of the most compelling portrayals of trauma, fear, and reluctant love I’ve read in the series. Labeled the Moahloli family’s “problem child,” Tseko’s struggle to climb out of the darkness imposed by her father is written with raw honesty.
Her dynamic with Tankiso-full of charm, tension, and mistrust-feels real and relatable. The contrast between the distant safety of Khalid and the frightening possibility of happiness with Tankiso creates a gripping emotional conflict that drives the story.
What stood out most was how sensitively the book explores healing, vulnerability, and the courage it takes to choose love after hurt. Tseko’s journey is messy, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful.
A strong, engaging read that captures the complexity of past wounds and new beginnings
Her dynamic with Tankiso-full of charm, tension, and mistrust-feels real and relatable. The contrast between the distant safety of Khalid and the frightening possibility of happiness with Tankiso creates a gripping emotional conflict that drives the story.
What stood out most was how sensitively the book explores healing, vulnerability, and the courage it takes to choose love after hurt. Tseko’s journey is messy, heartfelt, and ultimately hopeful.
A strong, engaging read that captures the complexity of past wounds and new beginnings
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews