Woman Made of Man

Woman Made of Man is a true story about a young girl who loses her womanhood to her brother at a very tender age, before she even knew what the word “virginity” meant. Caught between being a sibling to her brother and ruining his life, she decides to keep her abuse a secret from her parents for seven years. When she finally decides to reveal the secret to her parents, she does not receive the sympathy or support she expected. Disappointed, Lesedi gives herself to a young man who gets her pregnant and then deserts her. Lesedi goes through life angry and bitter at her brother until he is lying on his deathbed, suffering from AIDS, and she realizes that all that anger was not worth it. It is at that point that she starts to comprehend what it means to forgive. In the midst of grieving for her brother, Lesedi accepts a marriage proposal from a man she thought was a godsend, not knowing that she was letting the devil into her life. After going through a life-threatening divorce, she goes back to her ex-boyfriend. But things don't work out between her and her HIV-positive boyfriend, who pressures Lesedi to leave her religion to join his church. She ends the relationship soon after she is exposed to the risk of contracting the virus and has to take ARV treatment for a month. After years of heartache, Lesedi learns to accept life as it is and to let go. She finally decides to let go of the man she has secretly loved for years, a man who broke her heart by marrying another woman while he was flirting with Lesedi. Just when she is ready to give up on love, Lesedi meets a man she is attracted to and falls in love with him. It is through her cousin's tragedy that she realizes that Abraham was not brought into her life for love, but that he was a godsend, an angel to deliver messages to Lesedi from God. Finally, after twenty-seven years, Lesedi realizes that she has spent most of her life healing from the hurt and sorrow that men have brought into her life. She finds peace, bliss, and happiness by turning to God. They say life begins at forty—Lesedi's life begins at twenty-seven.