CAN GOD BE FORGIVEN?
BOOK
‘Forgive God’ is a novel that explores the unsettling environment created by absent fathers in the lives of their children.
This book was authored by Lebogang Kendy Mozela. It was published on September 14th 2023 by Poeticblood Publishers. The 23 year-old author, who hails from Ditladi village is a lover of books who has finally published her first book. This book briefly imposes maturity, wisdom and offers a different perspective on how people perceive and question God.
The book comprises of 12 thought provoking and mind-blowing chapters. She delves into discussing reasons why fathers leave, further explaining that each circumstance is different but the result is the same.
‘’Your heart breaks twice, first when he walks out of the door and second, 10 years later when you look around for the umpteenth time and he still hasn’t found his way back home, ask Zena and Nari, the main characters in this book,” said Mozela.
She emphasised that ‘Forgive God’ therefore explores the indoctrination of women from childhood. She is of the view that people do not realise how their male counterparts influence an average woman’s life from childhood. She has particularly observed that girls turn into adulthood and still question their own power whenever they want to achieve something.
“Their mindset is wired with the what if my husband wants something different and so they hardly do something that is solely in their own favor without questioning their gender,” said Mozela. “We have lived this truth. Our younger sisters are living this truth. Our mothers have lived it,” she said, emphasising that the fictional book therefore comes through more like a reality check in the lives of people. It is meant to indirectly cause the reader to introspect.
‘Forgive God’ also explores rape. “This chapter about rape, highlights that rape is all about control and power, over another person’s body,” said Mozela. She laments that the society still sees this topic to be very sensitive to a point that it is hardly discussed openly.
“If there are 10 men that I have slept with before willingly, this does not justify that the next man should force themselves on me. For as long as anyone force a carnal knowledge of the other person or penetrates them forcefully, this is rape. The society should stop being harsh on women, than they are on men,” said Mozela.
‘Forgive God’ talks about the harsh culture surrounding rape related pregnancies as well. The way the society expects such women to discard the negative feelings they have the moment they hear the faint heartbeat of a baby in the belly, is not right, so she says.
“The mixed feelings the mother experiences when it comes to nurturing and accepting the child also destroys them psychologically and it does not end with the mother but also affects the child in the future,” Mozela said.
Mozela was inspired to write this book by the fact that writing has always been key to finding her own voice. She is a final year student pursuing Bachelor of Electronics Engineering at the University of Botswana. The book is available on preorder.