Memoirs of a Counselor

Growing up as a shy Indian girl in South Africa during apartheid, I was bound to encounter racial discrimination, cultural pressures, religious dogma, gender inequality, and verbal and sexual abuse. ​Memoirs of a Counselor: Life in South Africa, details such real-world experiences as child molestation by a family member, gun violence because of skin color, rape in a first relationship, police raids at a non-white university, verbally abusive marriage, and extreme cultural and religious constrictions. Along with my story, I provide suggestions on how readers can move toward wholeness and healing despite any atrocities they are forced to face. This candid book describes my distinctive way of navigating the struggles in life and rising above life's challenges. In parallel to the horrors I experienced and witnessed, I developed an imaginary friend, a counselor, who became my confidant. This unusual relationship continues to develop throughout my life, enabling me to emerge as a healthy woman, both mentally and emotionally. Both the day-to-day and cerebral worlds, as much as they blended, were distinctly separate and yet inexplicably real to me.  ​While the setting is South Africa, the values involved are universal. ​The book also covers, based on my experiences other ways people can place problems in better perspective including a unique transformative tool; third-person self-talk. While the story of my life is raw and gripping in itself, it also provides a path for people to overcome evils currently facing our society.