Oluga Manukha from Makwarela published her first short memoir, titled "Diary of a Sexy Corpse," on Friday, 11 August. The book is based on her own experiences with love, which almost led to her losing her life.
Manukha explained that she was motivated to write her book after being released from Life Brenthurst Hospital in 2018, following a suicide attempt. She recalls that her doctor would often refer to her as a "sexy corpse," jesting that if her suicide attempt had been successful, she would have made for a beautiful corpse. "He told me that I was too beautiful to die, that our past might be messy, but it definitely doesn't define us. We are bigger than our problems or the challenges that almost broke us. I underwent a lot of emotional imbalances. There were so many things I couldn't talk about, so I shifted to writing," she said.
Manukha wrote the book as a form of therapy to heal from her ordeal and to provide clarity to her family and friends about what had led to her suicide attempt. Despite still being evasive about her experience when asked directly, she said, "I decided to put my silent voice into words because I believed that where my voice can't reach, my words will. The unfortunate part is that I'm not the only person who has experienced this, and that's why I want to share it with everyone, so they can find comfort and encouragement."
Manukha believes that young people trying to navigate love and relationships will connect the most with her book.