Grondpad, Bergpad, Langpad

Maruanda Wynne has more to run for than endorphins. She tells her own overcoming while sharing stories of the (far too many) women who have lived through abuse, in South Africa and beyond.

HARTLAP TO HUIS JABES

I am a writer that happens to run. Then again, I am a runner who happens to write. Some day I will figure it out, while also figuring out why we try to label ourselves.

Earlier this year I published my first novel, in my home language, Afrikaans. Hartlap – Die Storie. The main character Annemarie is married to an abusive husband. She visits a safety house for women, not realising that she herself is being abused. A few weeks later she is lying in hospital in a coma thanks to her husband’s rage of anger.

The story had such overwhelming feedback from women speaking out about abuse, trusting me with their stories, sharing their secrets.

I was told about a safety house for abused women and children in the northern