Keri's Couch: 'Beaten But Not Broken' by Vanessa Govender
Every week on Keri's Couch, I get to meet new people who have very unique stories to tell. This week, I had a very emotional time with an incredible woman. East Coast meet Vanessa Govender.
Take a listen to the full interview with Vanessa below or read the details under the podcast.
What I’m loving about Keri’s Couch is that every week two strangers become friends, and this week was no different. Vanessa is as real as they get. She is strong. She is soft. She is brave.
Read - Keri's Couch: The gift of education
She is open and honest and she is my guest on the couch this week.
Jacana Media, the publisher of Vanessa's book, describes the book as...
'At the height of her journalism career, more than one million households across the country knew her name and her face. Her reportage on human suffering and triumph captivated viewers, and with it Vanessa Govender shot to fame as one of the first female Indian television news reporters in South Africa.
'Yet Govender, a champion for society’s downtrodden, was hiding a shocking story of her own. In Beaten But Not Broken, she finally opens up about her deepest secret – one that so nearly ended her career in broadcast journalism before it had barely kicked off.
'She was a rookie reporter at the SABC in 1999. He was a popular radio disc jockey at a radio station catering to nearly half a million Indian people across South Africa. They were the perfect pair, or so it seemed.
'In Beaten But Not Broken, this Indian woman does the unthinkable in breaking the ranks of a close-knit conservative community to speak out about her five-year-long hell in this abusive relationship. Her story also lays bare her heart-breaking experiences as a victim of childhood bullying and being ostracised by some in her community for being a dark-skinned Indian girl. Govender tells a graphic story of extreme abuse, living with the pain, and ultimately of how she was saved by her own relentless fighting spirit to find purpose and love.
'This is a story of possibilities and hope; it is a story of a true survivor.'
Thank you for sharing your story with us and allowing us in to such a vulnerable space. And PLEASE, if you’re reading this and are in any kind of abusive relationship/situation…. THIS IS YOUR SIGN TO MAKE A CHANGE.
Do it for you. Do it for Vanessa. Do it for every single woman or man who couldn’t/didn’t get out soon enough.
Click here if you need any help.
Vanessa gave me a signed copy of her very limited book to share with you. So if you'd like to get your hands on this book, all you have to do is comment below sharing some love. Someone out there may need it.