{"id":49045,"date":"2026-06-27T09:19:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T07:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/highway-berea\/?p=49045"},"modified":"2026-06-23T09:27:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T07:27:06","slug":"the-story-behind-the-storyteller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/highway-berea\/blog\/2026\/06\/27\/the-story-behind-the-storyteller\/","title":{"rendered":"The story behind the storyteller"},"content":{"rendered":"

For nearly 30 years, Vera Vencatasamy has helped tell other people\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Based in Hillcrest and serving as communications director at Focus on the Family Africa<\/em>, 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.<\/p>\n

Her book, Masterpiece<\/em>, explores experiences she spent years carrying quietly – including grief, bullying, racism, colourism, child abuse, adoption and the loss of her parents.<\/p>\n

\"\"“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.”<\/p>\n

Rather than presenting a polished success story, the memoir examines what happens when life falls apart and how people find a way forward.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

The title reflects one of the book’s central themes.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

Over time, her faith changed that perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to believe that only God can take broken pieces and turn them into something beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe brought healing into places in my heart I did not even realise needed healing,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were moments where I had to stop writing because it felt too heavy,\u201d she says. \u201cBut healing requires honesty. You cannot avoid the parts of your story that hurt the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

While faith runs throughout the memoir, Vera is careful not to portray it as an escape from hardship.<\/p>\n

\u201cFaith does not mean we never break or question things,\u201d she says. \u201cGod meets us honestly in our brokenness.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than anything, she hopes readers see themselves in the pages.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always believed stories can heal people,\u201d she says. \u201cBehind every person is a story waiting to be understood.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

If there is one message she hopes readers take away, it is that difficult chapters do not have to determine the ending.<\/p>\n

\u201cPain may shape part of your story,\u201d she says, \u201cbut it does not define your future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"About the book<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Small steps for difficult seasons<\/strong><\/p>\n

When life feels overwhelming, Vera\u2019s reflections point to simple but meaningful ways of beginning again:<\/p>\n