With a flair for reading and writing since she was a little girl, Zaheera Walker, an Assistant Communication Manager at the Joburg Property Company, is fast realising her dream and encouraging others along the way.
The Durban-born wordsmith almost threw the towel in after her career at a mainstream newspaper didn’t pan out. “Instead of wallowing in sorrow, I decided to write my heart out to influence people – especially women – to grab hold of their dreams and turn it into reality,” says Walker.
But it was not an easy path and life going forward was dotted with sadness and punctuated with grief.
A romantic at heart, Walker married young and after 12 years, her husband was reclaimed into the heavenly flock. Without family support here in Joburg, she had two choices: go back home or stay and make a difference. She chose the latter and decided while the City sleeps, she will write words of determination.
That is when she wrote her debut novel Deadline in 2016. This was a story she penned to remind people that everything is not as it seems, but we must never lose hope in the path mapped out for us. The following year, she published Beautiful Chaos, followed by Desecrated.
Her memoir, Reaching You, is a personal account of love blemished by depression; it is due for release at the end of the month. Her stories are authentically South African, with a focus on topics that most people brush under the carpet. The storylines are packed with raw emotion.
Apart from her fulltime work and self-publishing in her free time, Walker is a fearless woman who loves the thrill of the air being knocked out of her. To date, she has gone bungee jumping, freefalling and skydiving. Next on her list is to abseil off Table Mountain.
Is she crazy? Not at all, she is a carefree spirit who chooses to live life without regret. “So many people lose hope after some episode in their lives. Some find their light in the darkness, others remain in the shadows. I choose to address those situations to show people they are worthy of much more because when we know our value, our sanctity, and the power that we yield, we will rise up to anything.”
