Ultimately Begginings by Nandi Mjo Manetsa

This is a collection of 17 real-life accounts by black women who were touched by death sooner than expected in their marriages. Each woman’s account chronicles a journey of incredible loss, uncertainty and loneliness. 17 journeys of women brought together by common grief and navigating everyday lives while grieving. Stories of picking up the pieces and moving into uncertain futures making sudden plans to re-join the work force for some, for others, navigating life with young fatherless children.

Each story is important. Each voice questions the customs and practices around death, the wake and the burial. The mourning period and its impact on the family unit. The division of assets and the unlearning of living as a couple to learning to live as a single person, most with dependent children and others, alone.

Each story comes from a position of initial disorientation and over time, re-building strength and resilience. Each story is told with clarity and carries enormous power of moving positively with life.

"An extremely powerful collection of moving, verbatim accounts of heartbreak by several unique personalities. The book details how the widowed women, young at the time of loss, through injustices- large and small, came to realize their true potential. The odds were more often than not against them, and yet their resilience kept them going. People saw them only as a reflection of their loss and their individuality a sub-text of their existence. Narrating their different stories is evidence of their maturity and the willingness to open up themselves for the enrichment of others, especially those who are called WIDOWS. The experiences are diverse, and many women can relate to them. I certainly found myself, having been widowed very young, resonating with most of them.

Nandi Manentsa, through this book, has exposed the devastation that is faced by so many women who lose their husbands. This book will incite discourse and a cultural shift, both in mind and in practice. It creates a platform for the voiceless and is a healing read for us all”. Adv. Boniswa Mzimba, PowerHouse Development Services, Widow Wellness and Empowerment Services