Leadership magazine reviews Emmaculate Cindi’s book, In a Killer’s Shadow
The book provides a personal account of experiencing the entangled reality of life that is often too familiar for many South Africans, especially women.
The author brilliantly ties together a life that is filled with hardships, the majority of which are worsened by the shape of her upbringing.
The multi-layered book gives insight into the making of a strong, intellectually-gifted, confident woman who owns up to her every endeavour whether perceived as acceptable by society or not.
‘In A Killer’s Shadow’ is an account of a brave young woman who decides she is going to look for her father, only to find him in possibly the worst of places; incarcerated for murder and arson.
Emmaculate Cindi generously unpacks her journey of seeking to know and connect with a father who is in custody for committing a gruesome crime that has reached pandemic levels, in present day South Africa.
After approximately a decade of yearning and wondering, Cindi takes one step that would probably change her entire perspective on life, love, responsibility, and drive to achieve the most with her life.
Her first encounter with her father in prison is one of wonder, curiosity, and unconditional love. At an age when young people should be focusing on knowing themselves better, she gets to know her dad better behind bars.
A captivating story of a girl holding on to the hope of getting a call or letter from her father while in prison, the well-narrated story takes us through the process of that relationship maturing into a real father-daughter bond, with all its ups and downs.
True to every woman in this country, Cindi’s life is rich with survival of poverty, abuse, rejection, and, beyond all of that, resilience like a true South African woman. From glory to glory.
Each chapter offers a captivating tale of a young woman growing from strength to strength as she tells it. She covers woman issues, getting to know and appreciate herself in the nude, having to parent all her four children alone, and the societal attacks on her for having kids from different fathers even though she is not married.
She deals with rejection and lies from the father of one of her kids, the betrayal that almost caused her to take her own life multiple times, and how she then made a decision to pull herself together and take control of her emotions.
As if life would leave you alone after all that, Cindi confronts corporate wars for simply being herself. Beyond that, the honesty in the story keeps you glued to the book; the events make you wonder how she is still standing and gives the reader wings to carry on.
The book is about healing, letting go, accepting rejection, and ultimately creating a meaningful life despite life’s challenges.
Cindi’s penmanship is one of a kind, making it a difficult book to put down.
Emmaculate Cindi is the author of ‘In A Killer’s Shadow’.
