Cape Town- A grandmother is on a mission to educate the youth about addiction and its painful destruction in a book inspired by true events of an addict.
Farieda Abrahams, 62, from Mitchells Plain does not hold back in her book, The Storm Within, which showcases the true reality of drug addiction in Cape Town.
The book is expected to be launched on December 4.
Abrahams is no stranger to the world of authors and published her first book in 2018, titled My Lover, My Country, which tells the story of her life growing up in District Six.
Abrahams, a mother of three, is an auxiliary worker at Sultan Bahu Drug Treatment Centre in Mitchells Plain, which places her in the heart of where addicts learn to escape from the grip of drugs and addiction.
The book is inspired by true events of a drug addict and is filled with education to help families in need.
“I work at a rehabilitation centre and I hear the stories and I want to educate the community,” she said. “This book is inspired by true events, drug abuse, prostitution, Satanism and gangsterism. I let one of my clients read the story and she said it was like she was reading her own story, her own pain and journey. It's said the way it is, showing the true reality and it is there to give people hope who need help.
“It is not just a book but has a section where people can go to for help and information they need to start that process.”
Abrahams said the book contained 154 pages and was written during lockdown and was priced R200 of which 50% will be donated to Sultan Bahu, for the upliftment of the community.
Haroldene Tshienda, of Tshienda Publications, will be publishing the book. She said the book would take the reader on a journey where they had never travelled before, reflecting the destruction drugs had on families.
“They say ’lightning doesn’t strike twice in one place,’ but they’re so wrong. Farieda Abrahams tells a story of a young female who's been trapped and held in bondage,” she said. “It is so heart gripping because this is just one of thousands of challenges that families are facing in the Cape Flats but also in the world.
“Drugs don't only destroy an individual but they can break an entire family.
“The Storm Within, is about a young female searching for love and acceptance in all the wrong and immoral places. Her journey through life takes her to places where angels fear to step in. Rejection, lies, manipulation and drugs are the storms she's been fighting. The darkness of the unknown and the light that seems so far in the eyes of men is what she’s fighting. However, she fights her demons with the one thing she learned growing up, to never show your true feelings.”
Tshienda said Abrahams had included additional information to help someone who might struggle the same battles described in the book.
“Together we can make a difference and fight the addiction of not only drugs but alcohol or any other addiction.”
Shafiek Davids, the director of Sultan Bahu Drug Treatment Centre, said Abrahams was an inspiration and impacted so many lives.
“She was the very first person employed to work at Sultan Bahu Drug Treatment Centre before the clinic opened its doors and was employed in my lounge in Portland. She has healed many hearts and achieved many accolades yet is humble and serves her community.”
For more information: Email: [email protected]
Weekend Argus