Zeenat Saloojee | Childhood Trauma, Apartheid & Healing Through Writingpost
In this powerful interview, author Zee shares the deeply personal story behind her contribution to the Women Like Me book The Space Between Before and After. This is an honest conversation about childhood survival, family secrecy, generational trauma, grief, displacement, identity, and the long road to healing through writing.
Julie Fairhurst
5/27/20261 min read
After the loss of both her parents, one core memory rose to the surface and pushed Zee to finally write the story she had carried for years. She reflects on growing up during apartheid-era South Africa, where political unrest, fear, secrecy, and survival shaped everyday life. Zee explains how her grandparents protected her, how silence affected her body and emotions, and what it means to grow up with both love and abandonment living in the same story.
