Carl Gustav Jung’s quote: “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become” best captures Pauline Naphazi Mutyanda’s latest book Fix Your Crown, a story of overcoming rejection, from being a victim to victor.
Mutyanda is the founder of Women Inspired Network, an organisation that empowers women, girls, and youths through life-coaching, mentoring, and counselling initiatives so that they can have the requisite capacity and tools to excel in their lives.
She is a holder of a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Applied Accounting (Oxford Brookes University) and is a fully qualified Chartered Certified Accountant.
She holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management for Executives as well as a Master’s in Business Administration degree from the University of Zimbabwe.
Her debut book Fix Your Crown captures the story of a girl who overcomes and navigates through a rough terrain to become an epitome of victory against all odds.
Heartfelt International Ministries CEO pastor Chipo Vutabwashe described Mutyanda’s book as “one that would be very helpful in restoring the hope of many readers to fulfill their potential”
In her book, Mutyanda shares a story of a girl who:
lWas born the first born and a girl when her parents expected a boy.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
lAssumed responsibilities over her little siblings and tried to periodically please her parents that she too could do what any boy child could do
lFell pregnant twice in her early 20s
lWas raising her two little babies before the tender age of 24.
In explaining her predicament Mutyanda says “There was no saviour coming my way, No deliverer. No family to help me out and no friends to reach to. No pastor or church folk to consult as I felt deeply ashamed to go to church. I could not even pray as I felt even God himself was angry with me just as my parents were”–(pp.10)
The shattered dreams of falling pregnant twice and the feeling of “carrying the shame of raising two different babies with different fathers” could be her eureka moment in which her God-ordained crown had been “terribly shaken” and she uses rich vivid images to paint gloom and doom when she says,
“The future looked dire, bleak, and darker than night. It was pitch black. I pondered if the future was worth waiting for. Manytimes, I simply wanted to die as my hope was completely gone. I was young, confused and all at the tender age of 24”–(pp.11)
The author enlists self-acceptance as one of the key ingredients in overcoming consequences of any misfortune and her misfortune had emanated from wounds inflicted on her heart following two consecutive heartbreaks which had left her with the misery of looking after her two babies.
“I decided to take a sabbatical holiday from romantic relationships so that I could concentrate on building myself. I put in the time and effort which was a lot of hard work, but it eventually paid off”–(pp.22).
It is against this background that she successfully managed to climb up the ladder as she educated herself and attained her accounting qualification by the time she turned 30 and later on finds herself happily married. How she overcomes all the obstacles in her life and emerge victorious could be metaphoric of her being able to “Fix Her Own Crown”.
The beauty of the book Fix Your Crown is that it is endowed with many life experiences of different stories of struggle many people face. The author’s message is articulate as she urges people to remain resilient in times of adversity.
“You can carve a different path for yourself, believe me, there are people who have gone through traumatic experiences and have changed trajectory of their lives”–(pp.19)
The book is also woven with scriptural and biblical references and Mutyanda who also has a pastoral calling–emphasizes spirituality as being key to finding meaning and purpose in life when one finds themselves stuck at the deep end of life. –(pp.45-65).
Summarily the book Fix Your Crown is meant for three types of people.
Firstly, those with a lost identity — Fix Your Crown will help them to regain their identity.
Secondly, those with wounds of rejection — Fix Your Crown will help them to heal.
Finally, those who feel lost and are victims of life’s circumstances — Fix Your Crown will break such chains and inculcate a winning mentality.
- Fungayi Sox is the managing partner at TisuMazwi — a communications-centred social enterprise that facilitates book project management including writing and publishing, ghost-writing, storytelling, and book printing. He writes in his personal capacity. For feedback contact him on 0776 030 949, follow him on Twitter: @AntonySox or on LinkedIn on Fungayi Antony Sox.
