Her Broken Pieces

by Minenhle Khumalo

Struggling with integrating back into society after escaping her captor after five years of torture, sexual abuse as well as prostitution, Minenhle finds herself turning against the people who love her the most.

Haunted by dreams and memories of her torture and torment she turns to illegal substances in order to try and deal with the pain.

123 pages, Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Claire Hondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: Her broken pieces by Minenhle Khumalo

As long as you haven't gone through the worst ordeals in life, you have no right to judge whatsoever🤷🏾‍♀️🙅🏾‍♀️. This book is an eye-opener and it's so raw dealing with addictions, human trafficking, prostitution, marriage, loss stuff affecting us.

How do you pick up broken pieces of your life and heart after being abducted, trafficked and sexually abused for 5years before you could finally escape and return to ur family??? Like I said only someone who has gone through it can really understand what will be going through in the person's head. But I believe to begin the journey of healing, you need to forgive yourself and get to love yourself again. Choose to focus on the positivity in your life. You can't give what you don't have- I think she rushed getting back and married to Shaka when she hadn't even tried to get healing from her demons which sent her to a worse hell than she returned in.

"You knew all along that his heart belonged to me and yet you stayed with him and that is on you"- self-inflated pain we don't support🙅🏾‍♀️ If a man says he doesn't love you believe him the first time. Don't settle for second best(the "as long as I'm in his life" types🤷🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️) you are more baby gal have some self-love and respect. Love yourself enough to walk away. The problem comes when you have invested in someone who didn't want you from the beginning and they decide to go to the lover of their lives and you feel cheated after all the investment vele but he told you that i'm not here to stay with you wani🤷🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️ That's what ended up happening to Palesa when Hlehle came back into Shaka's life.

Shaka was justified for this outburst tho "You are selfish. We both went through this loss but do you know how I feel? No, you don't because we're too busy tiptoeing around you trying to make sure our 'precious' Minenhle doesn’t lose it". Most couples we lose it here when we go through a tragedy or loss, we wanna wallo alone but forget that it happened also to ur partner and he is the closest person who can really understand what you feeling and how you feeling it because he is feeling the same. Men are equally emotional hey they are just less dramatic about it than us women. Don't shut him out let him in and let that pain bring you closer together.

I feel like she didn't fight harder to try and get the help to be rehabilitated enough, I feel like she was being selfish vele her parents, her partner they were all trying, by all means, to be there for her, to understand her and making her comfortable the least she could have done was meet them halfway by going for therapy coz really the stress of her nightmares and waking up soiled was also taking a toll on her family. She allowed herself to wallow more in her misery shutting everyone out which is very understandable because as long as you haven't reached that level of wanting help yourself without being pushed like really wanting it, you yourself, there is no healing that can take place at all.

Sometimes, in the end, u need to let go and love from afar because loving someone on a destructive path will pull you down with them. I am glad it pushed her to start the healing process for herself, forgiving herself and putting her interests first. I love her for that. And maybe now she can truly love her Mngomezulu wholly .

Thank you Minenhle Khumalo for giving us such a book with many discussion areas😘

[Onthatile Nkanyane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read all her previous works, amazing writer keeps you on your toes, evoke all the raw emotions and surely has a great sense of humor. Get the book.

[Zinhle Ngidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to calm myself before writing this because my emotions were all over the place. Finishing up this book was difficult as tears clouded my vision. For once I made TEA 🙌😜just to calm myself down.

About the book
The story is about a beautiful young woman that once had dreams and was full of life. She was kidnapped, trafficked and made a sex slave for full 5 years. The story starts when she escaped now trying to continue with her life. She struggles to cope even around people who loved her dearly. They tried all they could to help her but the dreams of everything she went through all those years kept on blocking her. She lived like a slave that she was for the past 5 years and the only difference now was that she was amongst people that cared a lot.
Self love was non existent, she hated herself, self confidence and self esteem were taken away from her. As you read along when those nightmares hit her, you will understand why it became so difficult for her to move on and celebrate her freedom.
The worse part was her failing to open up to anyone. Understandably so, when she tells the story, few people will be able to share such painful memories, it’s degrading and disgusting. She did what most of us do when we cannot deal with issues alcohol and drugs and in the process losing those that loved her the most and losing herself.

This book got me thinking that when we have people in our midst who have gone through such ordeals then some of us know nothing about pain. Let us just sit down and thank the heavens that the cards dished out for us didn’t include such. People are dealing with real issues out there. All they need to do is to allow themselves to heal by opening up and seek help, because if you survived all that torture, then it was for a reason. Others do not make it. Human trafficking is real and girls get raped repeatedly and some never come back to their families.

Lessons learned
• Healing is a process, do not judge. It takes time for others while others heal quicker
• Be kind to people you meet because you don’t know what they are dealing with or what they have been through
• When you have been hurt, believe that there is reason you survived, work on restarting your life
• When you are empty inside, you are not capable of giving love
• Do not bottle up things but be careful who you tell your story. If you trust no one, seek professional help. Bottling up things destroys you
• Whatever pain you have been through, accept that it happened but do not dwell on pain forever. Pain has a tendency of taking away your happiness. You will not even celebrate your success/achievements because you feel you do not deserve happiness.
• Get out there and live again, reclaim your life, you deserve it.
• It is not over yet! You can still pick up your broken pieces one by one and rebuild you life

[Sihle 🪻🌸🌷🌼🌝 · Rating 4 out of 5]

GBV and human trafficking are deeply sensitive issues for us as South Africans, and this book provided an eye-opening look into the aftermath. We often rejoice physical freedom of victims and forget that they’ll forever be prisoners of their minds.I found myself empathizing with the protagonist’s coping mechanisms, understanding that I could never fully grasp the depth of her pain. It also made me reflect on the lack of proper support systems for survivors—though, sadly, that isn’t surprising when our protective structures are so inadequate to begin with. Still, this book offered a powerful and insightful perspective.

[Nosipho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate how they don't let her heal first and just tie her to marriage. After reading this book I was so angry at Minenhle's family for just giving her away ro marriage after suffering so much. They were all supposed to let her heal first, even Mngomezulu is guilty of caging her emotions instead of letting her heal first and take one step at a time.

[Noxolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really struggled to read and finish this book bot because it's a bad read. It was an emotional rollercoaster.

I cannot wait to read more books to come from Minnie.

[Bercy Phasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

It was good although it circled around the same thing.
I'm glad Mini is working on herself.
Well done,you doing good.

[Sisanda Wanga · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I came across with, Yes it's a very touchy and emotional book. I love how she gives you a picture of each moment when Shaka and Minentle are together its as if you are watching a movie,

I wish there was a second chapter where Minentle finally goes and finishes her therapy and realize that Shaka is the real man who supports and loves her. And that she also needs to be supportive and take care of the child as her own and let go of the past in order to be happy in their marriage.

All in all I enjoyed reading the book and definitely I will recommend it.