Period Pain Paperback – July 1, 2017

I am also a South African doctor and I often found myself crying with the protagonist. It's an environment I remember so familiarly, I remember crying in the on call room over the death of the patient but timing myself for 1 minute so that I could pull myself together to see the next patient. Kopano, you have written a beautiful novel that has spoken directly to my soul. You have my heart.

This book is in the form of a personal journal, in which Masechaba, a medical school graduate, unleashes her thoughts and frustrations. She swings back and forth, between hope and hopelessness, as she faces the stark reality of her chosen career in the medical field, and struggles to navigate the challenges of work as an intern, while her illusions are crushed along the way.It’s a deep-seated cry for explanations and understanding of: her menstrual suffering as a young girl; her constant exhaustion as an intern; her brother’s death; her friendship with a Zimbabwean doctor and the resulting xenophobia. She constantly questions God as she moves from belief to non-belief.The story draws attention to issues of rape, suicide, depression and pregnancy, which play out in the context of a public health system that is highly unstable.A raw and powerful book.

Harsh, truthful and agonizing. May South Africa emerge as strong and compassionate as this young doctor who suffered so much.

It's a small book with big issues! Lots of themes to ponder!

This is a coming of age book that follows a young medical student who is discovering her agency, when she is raped and her world spins out of control.It covers family expectations and pain, xenophobia and identity. An easy, enjoyable read that hopefully will have you questioning how you view and interact with the world and the people in it.

un livre qui parle de cette douleur récurrente qui afflige les femmes au moins pendant quarante ans de leur vie.Mais aussi des espoirs d'une jeune femme trahie par les siens dans une Afrique du Sud rongée par la xénophobie., entre tradition et modernité. Une écriture coup de poing sans concession