The Fragile Mental Health of Strong Women

Lunga keeps quiet for a few minutes after my rant. I feel terrible for shouting at him. Babies cry, I rationalise. They are impatient because they have no sense of time. Lunga is not trying to ruin my life. I cannot assign malice to an infant. I bend down to kiss an apology into his forehead, but he starts wailing, trying to thrust the pacifier out of his mouth.

Black women are labelled as strong; their tears often seen as indulgent, their suffering expected to have an imminent expiration date. In Michelle Kekana’s ambitious debut, three thoroughly modern South African women find themselves brought to breaking point as they navigate the complexities of life, love and mental health. Utterly engrossing from the first page, The Fragile Mental Health of Strong Women is a bold exploration of what it means to be ‘strong’.