Beaulah Mbirimi unleashes first book
ASPIRING and upcoming novelist Beaulah Mbirimi has released her first professional publication titled “BeeSpirational”.
The 20-chapter book was officially launched in Harare on August 19.
The 35-year-old novelist penned “BeeSpirational” with the intention to motivate people going through hardships and to instil hope.
Speaking in an interview with The Sunday Mail Society, Mbirimi said the book was inspired by personal experiences.
“I grew up in a community that believed a girl must only focus on getting married and not be given an equal chance, like boys, in pursuing education. Resultantly, I was married for the wrong reasons and ended up getting divorced. The stigma that came after affected me a lot,” explained Mbirimi.
She said life became miserable for her after the divorce.
The rough patch, she added, motivated her to work hard so as to become an inspiration to other women.
“My book is meant to motivate another girl or woman who might find herself in a similar predicament. I want them to have something they can relate to so that they do not lose hope in nasty situations. So, I can say this is a manual on how to overcome challenges and be happy again,” she said.
According to Mbirimi, she has always wanted to publicly share her life experience but could not get the right platform.
“Writing a book was the best plan I could come up with. I have struggled for years to get a platform to stand up and vent.”
The budding author is a human resources manager and an arbitrator with one of the leading liquor selling outlets in the country.
She wishes to continue breaking barriers.
“I believe my life experiences and the work that I am doing at the moment has the potential to motivate others. I want women to believe in themselves. They should understand that divorce is not the end of the world. There is more to achieve after going your separate ways with your partner,” added Mbirimi.
She, however, reckons that such motivational messages are resented by people that believe in abuse and archaic traditional practices.
“I remember one day I went out with my friend.
“She was telling some ladies about my book and one lady asked me what it (book) was about. After explaining, she heavily criticised me, questioning my motive.
“The book tackles issues that our society is not yet ready to talk about,” notes Mbirimi.
She also narrated the challenges she encountered in the process of writing and publishing the book.
“It has been a nightmare. Very few people are willing to give their attention to a novice.
“I struggled to get a proof reader/editor of my work. I had to triple the effort for things to work out well in the end.”
She added that the setbacks only encouraged her to work hard and young people to venture into book writing.
“Writing is the best way to put your story out there without argument. It is unbelievable how when you start writing you will not only change your life but improve that of others,” she reckons.