Maureen Ndlovu’s latest book, Beautiful Broken Crown causes stir on social media

Midridge Park resident Maureen Zamagatsheni Ndlovu is a published author, real estate agent, motivational speaker, and GBV activist who has recently published her third book, Beautiful Broken Crown.

The book was released on April 30 and has been causing a stir on Amazon.com due to its deep dive into Ndlovu’s life, including her past relationship with her ex-lover, Menzi Ngubane, the late renowned and accomplished actor whom she accuses of being an abuser. In the book, Ndlovu portrays Ngubane as a self-obsessed tyrant who uses her solely for physical intimacy.

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Speaking about the book, Ndlovu explained, “I did not specifically decide to write about him alone. I write about my own life and it happened that he was featured in my life then. When we dated I was in my 20s, I did not know better, I just went with the wind.”

“I would not be selecting who I should be writing about and who I should not, I write about everyone, to me he was a boyfriend, not everyone’s legend or hero.”
Ndlovu began writing at a young age, growing up to write from experience rather than fiction. Her first book, Connecting the Dots Backwards, was a biography published in 2015 and in 2017 she released A Letter To Our Children.

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“I started writing a journal when I was younger, then after my other ex-boyfriend almost killed me, I woke up in a hospital and started writing because I wanted to warn women regarding abusive men.” She added if she was ‘a clout chaser’, she would have written about Ngubane when she was younger. However, her intention behind penning the book was to heal herself as she was over 40 now.

Writing Beautiful Broken Crown was a challenging experience for Ndlovu. She had to relive everything she wrote about, which delayed her deadlines. “And also deciding to name to shame all of my abusers, what is the use of telling my truth about them if I must protect and cushion their names this time around?

However, the mother of two hopes readers will take away an essential message from her book. She believes that abusive behaviour in men and women is not worth the price one pays for it.

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