Synopsis – Unmothered: The Colours of Survival

In _Unmothered – The Colours of Survival_, Melanie Govender writes through her alter ego, Alice, whose story begins in a fractured home where silence is survival, love is conditional, and dignity is hard-earned. Raised by emotionally absent grandparents after being rejected by both parents, Alice navigates abandonment, sexual trauma, and systemic silencing in a society that blames the victim before it protects her.

After running away to Johannesburg, Alice builds her life from scratch—working hard, healing slowly, and surviving heartbreak, exploitation, and loss. When she finally finds love and marries, she believes she's reached peace—but the birth of her child brings a new battle: postpartum depression.

Haunted by her own childhood, Alice fears she will repeat the same patterns. But in the quiet moments of motherhood, she begins to rewrite her story. She learns how to mother herself first—nurturing her inner wounds before she can fully nurture her child. Her journey through postpartum depression becomes an act of radical healing, transforming inherited trauma into intentional love.

Told with lyrical vulnerability and fierce clarity, _Unmothered_ is a story of generational pain, profound faith, and the brave, brutal work of becoming the mother you never had. It is not only a memoir of survival, but one of rebirth—of reclaiming womanhood, motherhood, and worth. Series Coming..

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