For nearly 30 years, Vera Vencatasamy has helped tell other people’s stories. Now, in her debut memoir, she turns the spotlight on herself, revealing a journey marked by loss, trauma, faith and an unexpected path to healing.
Based in Hillcrest and serving as communications director at Focus on the Family Africa, Vera Vencatasamy has built a career around communication, media and large-scale events. Yet the most challenging story she has ever told proved to be her own.
Her book, Masterpiece, explores experiences she spent years carrying quietly – including grief, bullying, racism, colourism, child abuse, adoption and the loss of her parents.
“Telling my own story required a level of emotional honesty I wasn’t used to,” she says. “But it also brought healing I did not expect.”
Rather than presenting a polished success story, the memoir examines what happens when life falls apart and how people find a way forward.
“There were moments where I felt completely broken, unseen and overwhelmed,” Vera says. “But I realised that some of the very things that nearly broke me could help someone else find healing.”
The title reflects one of the book’s central themes.
“When people hear the word masterpiece, they think of something complete and beautiful,” she says. “Growing up, I did not see myself that way. I felt like broken pieces.”
Over time, her faith changed that perspective.
“I came to believe that only God can take broken pieces and turn them into something beautiful.”
One of the most moving parts of the book focuses on motherhood. Vera says adopting her daughter, Zendaya, transformed her understanding of love, healing and grace.
“She brought healing into places in my heart I did not even realise needed healing,” she says.
The writing process itself was often difficult. Revisiting childhood trauma and the loss of her parents forced her to confront painful memories she had long carried.
“There were moments where I had to stop writing because it felt too heavy,” she says. “But healing requires honesty. You cannot avoid the parts of your story that hurt the most.”
The book also features a foreword by Yolande Korkie, whose own journey of captivity, loss, forgiveness and faith echoes many of the themes explored in its pages.
While faith runs throughout the memoir, Vera is careful not to portray it as an escape from hardship.
“Faith does not mean we never break or question things,” she says. “God meets us honestly in our brokenness.”
More than anything, she hopes readers see themselves in the pages.
“I’ve always believed stories can heal people,” she says. “Behind every person is a story waiting to be understood.”
That belief is what ultimately inspired her to write the book. By sharing her own experiences, she hopes to encourage conversations around grief, rejection, depression and emotional pain – subjects many people continue to carry in silence.
If there is one message she hopes readers take away, it is that difficult chapters do not have to determine the ending.
“Pain may shape part of your story,” she says, “but it does not define your future.”
About the book
Masterpiece is Vera Vencatasamy’s debut memoir, exploring themes of grief, bullying, racism, colourism, child abuse, adoption, faith and emotional healing. The book includes a foreword by Yolande Korkie and is available for R260 through veraofficial.co.za and on amazon.com
Small steps for difficult seasons
When life feels overwhelming, Vera’s reflections point to simple but meaningful ways of beginning again:
- Give yourself permission to rest without guilt and allow space to breathe
- Speak to someone you trust instead of carrying everything alone
- Spend time outdoors, even in small pockets of nature, to reconnect with calm
- Write things down when emotions feel heavy, as naming what you feel can bring clarity
- Lean into faith, prayer or reflection if that is part of your life
- Most importantly, accept support, whether through community, counselling or therapy, because healing is not meant to be done in isolation.
