‘Unbreakable’ – for those seeking their own voices
One woman’s story of bravery, survival and rising above adversity.
It’s one thing being a Black woman in a foreign country, it’s another being a homosexual woman in an unaccepting society. For Limpho Seeiso, it’s been just a delicate tale of her life. One she has decided to share with the rest of the world in a captivating memoir narrating the course of her life story.
She has penned down her experiences and struggles as a girl from the very traditional and religious mountain kingdom, falling in love for the first time with someone of the same gender, and leaving home to live in a different country.
[“I am a visitor in this country – a foreigner being accommodated.”]
Born in 1982 in a small village of Leibel called Mahobong, Limpho had a wonderful upbringing under the guidance and teachings of her adoring grandmother. While her childhood had been comforting, it didn’t prepare her for the harsh realities of life after finding herself.
In the book, Limpho relays the memories she shared with her grandmother, and illustrates the role she has played in her becoming. She then lets us in on how she met her now lover (a fateful meeting of lovers) and takes us through the difficulties of their same sex relationship – colleagues turned lovers, existing in a world that deems their communion to be unnatural.
[“The idea that my existence is something that must be accommodated, something that needs to be tolerated and even legislated, is an assault on my very humanness.”]
Though “coming out”, she not only had a difficult relationship with her mother and family, but experienced difficulties in her friendships and work environments. While there has been misfortunes, she has gained so much more – shefollowed the love of her life and moved to South Africa, got married and welcomed her second child through a first-time successful IVF journey, and is now a published author using her words to help others like herself ‘come into being’.
[“Being a woman who loves another woman, my existence is often times not acknowledged – not legally or culturally.”]
Despite all the challenges she faced both professionally and personally, she found herself, her voice, and has created her own “happily ever after”. Limpho spends her days concerned in her healing journey, raising her children, and building a loving marriage that withstands societal reservations. She lives by a liberating quote by Coco Channel, which reads, “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants”. Which has ultimately been her life story.
[“But you tell yourself that in spite of it all, you are in a country where the multiplicity of your identities is acknowledged, your existence affirmed, your sexuality legalised.”]
To read Limpho’s words it to feel like you are listening to a friend narrate her story. To experience her journey as a gay women, mother, and activist , get her upcoming book titled ‘Unbreakable’. The memoir is set to be out November 2022.
Throughout Pride Month, in October, Limpho will be hosting Instagram Live sessions around LQBTQIA+ issues and talk about her IVF journey.
Follow her on these social media platforms to get a glimpse of the author behind the book:
Instagram page @limp_see
Twitter page @Limpzie
Facebook page Mamosotho Seeiso
