Nou is altyd hier Tafelberg 2004
This is her story about overcoming her fear for life. Innerlike reise word vergestalt in en aangevul deur reise deur lande en tyd. Daar word profeties voorspel: "Dis tyd om wat uitgedien is, te laat vaar", en: "Sy sal op 'n reis gaan om haar weg deur storms en windstiltes te vind." In hierdie vreesloos eerlike, selfonthullende verhaal sal lesers ook hul eie lae van ervaring erken. Veilig by die implisiete skrywer, en meegevoer deur die stromende energie van haar vertelling, word die leser gestimuleer om in die binneruimte van eie denke self af te duik op soek na eie strominge en roeringe, eie pyn en groei.

"Die reis wat voorgelê het, was een waarin ek sou ontdek of dit vir 'n mens moontlik is om te kry wat jy uit die lewe wil hê. Diê storie is dus die verhaal van 'n gewone vrou in haar veertigerjare, iemand wat nog nooit voorheen groot ideale gehad het nie, maar nie langer tevrede was met haar bestaan nie. Iemand wat aan iets diep binne-in haar, iets wat syself nog nie behoorlik kon omskryf of vasvat nie, wou uitdrukking gee. En hoe sy bereid was om te eksperimenteer op soek na 'n beter, meer harmonieuse manier van leef. Dit gaan oor haar beweging tussen lig en donkerte, hoop en wanhoop, vernietiging en skepping en hoe sy nie langer probleme en vrese kon onderdruk nie, maar dit in die gesig moes kyk." (p. 17)

Kleure van liefde, Hemel en See Uitgewers 2000
Colours of love Protea, 2004 (forthcoming publication) - The English translation of Kleure van Liefde.

Marthie's story about overcoming her fear for death. As the book unfolds, she guides the reader through her own spiritual discoveries. Most readers comment that (1) they cannot put the book down once they start reading it and (2) are deeply moved by the various levels of experience they encounter. For the matter of illness and death is only a background to the spiritual development of an individual, someone in search of the deeper meaning of life.

The book has had an exceptional response. Coverage included various leading radio and TV stations, newspapers and magazines, including the largest Afrikaans family magazine that carried an 8-page article. It was bought by the largest book club and sales have been above expectation.

The title indicates that the book is primarily about love. It begins with the funeral of the author's husband, who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia and died in his early forties. But this is not a morbid tale tale of suffering, nor a predictable book on illness and death.

Although the story starts rather conventionally, this is on purpose. For when the author learned that her husband was ill, she was an average 39-year old woman with a corporate career. As the book unfolds, she guides the reader through her own spiritual discoveries. Most readers comment that (1) they cannot put the book down once they start reading it and (2) are deeply moved by the various levels of experience they encounter. For the matter of illness and death is only a background to the spiritual development of an individual, someone in search of the deeper meaning of life. The book addresses issues such as:

Overcoming fear and new beginnings
Being a person in your own right (self love)
Freedom (and trust) within an intimate relationship
What it means to have a soul mate: What is true love? What is intimacy?
Conscious living, every moment
Living with a life-threatening disease
Life after death: Contact with loved ones
Why nothing is a coincidental
Can I be helped? Do problems always have solutions?

Reader comments:

Various readers, many of whom had no intimate experiences with illness nor death, commented on (1) the style of writing, (2) the integration of new and conventional ideas, (3) the depth of the relationship between the main characters, (4) the credibility of the spiritual and other experiences, (5) the fact that they do not want to stop reading once they have started and (6) insights on how to overcome loss, be it through a divorce, retrenchment, death or any other traumatic experience.

Here are some samples of comments:

• The writing sparkles and shines. This is a brilliant writer.
  
• It's years since I've read an entire book from beginning to the end without interruptions. I couldn't put this one down.
  
• Why would a perfectly happy person read this book three times? Because it teaches one about life, not death. It's about social interaction, one's job, how to love and endure, how to be happy and how to die. And how to start anew after each setback, the beginning and the start, the eb and flow of life's cycles.
  
• A soul-enriching experience, a moving yet very human love story that shows one the depth that is possible between two human beings. This book will open the way for people to a new spirituality, away from dogmatic Christianity.
  
• Others have brought us the 'cool new way'. But this author brought a lived through experience - that's why she touched me so deeply.
  
• This book allows the reader to transcend.
  
• The last part of the book is a highlight, untouchably moving.
  

I have just read this moving manuscript and I couldn't put it down - I was absolutely riveted and touched by the honesty, compassion, and insight with which the experience unfolds.
The time is right for books such as this one.
This book contains something truly exceptional.
It is authentic. The description of the husband's death is wonderful, unforgettable.
It will, I believe, become a beloved book.

I found this story of life and death an overwhelming experience.
It will become an impact book - I use the word impact, because I don't like the term 'cult book'; there is something derogatory about it.
Reading particularly the last part of the book, I was reminded of the beginning of Dante's great life story, namely:
        In the middle of my life
         surrounded by a forest dark
         I stood and trembled.
The author has truly succeeded in transporting the reader into the heart of a mystery.
Few authors are able to do this. Tolstoy did, for example, in The Death of Ivan Ilitsch.

Contribution to Die Omstrede God, Rapid Access Publishers 2004 - Ons vind ons pad deur te probeer: Is ons ten volle verantwoordelik om ons eie realiteit te skep?

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