Book launch: Griefseed by Malika Ndolvu

I recently had the privilege of attending the book launch of Malika Ndlovu’s new book, Griefseed. Many of you will remember the moving opening performance by this writer, poet, curator, and applied arts practitioner at the 2023 Palliative Care Conference in Cape Town. 

The launch, held at Exclusive Books in Cavendish, drew a sizeable crowd. From their dress and comments, it was clear they came from many walks of life, each with their own story. During the Q&A session, one audience member shared that she had originally come to buy a book and to use the quiet space to work on her MMed thesis (she is completing her MMed in Paediatrics, as I later discovered). Curiously and unexpectedly, she found herself drawn to the launch instead, explaining, “I am actually here to work on my MMed,” she repeated. But like many of us, she was deeply moved by the conversation that unfolded between Malika and author Barbara Boswell. Indeed, we are all carrying some form of grief in our hearts.

Barbara Boswell writes: “Griefseed is a gift, an offering from the pen of Malika Ndlovu that seeks to transform the ways we think about and process grief. Multidisciplinary in scope, the text includes poems, personal essays, images, and reflections on grief that punctuate the life story of the poet, offered here as medicine. These creative pieces function as both a window onto an individual woman’s life as she has journeyed with, through, and beyond grief, as well as a mirror, inviting the reader to see their own lives and losses reflected within Ndlovu’s.”

Thank you Malika, for your ongoing inspiration and invaluable contribution to the palliative care community in more ways than one.