Ougat: From A Hoe Into A Housewife And Then Some by Shana Fife is out now from Jonathan Ball Publishers!

Unsettlingly honest and brutally blunt, Ougat is Shana Fife’s story of survival: of surviving the social conditioning of her Cape Flats community, of surviving sexual violence and depression, and of ultimately escaping a cycle of abuse.

The book has received some glowing praise from a number of esteemed readers:

‘There’s an entire generation of South African women who ought to read this book.’ – Sara-Jayne King, author of Killing Karoline

‘Ougat is masterfully written – raw, unpretentious, unsettling. Shana Fife captures all the darkness from her body, psyche and life with fearless honesty and transparency. It is one of the most important books of our time.’ – Frazer Barry, award-winning theatre practitioner, writer and musician

‘What a shock to the system Shana Fife’s Ougat is, as she lays bare the multiple layers of her gritty vulnerability. Fife takes one into the heart of the customary uncle swagger and complicit aunty-ness of being and right into the convoluted realities of defiant youth.’ – Bronwyn Davids, author of Lansdowne Dearest

‘A bold, unapologetic memoir about abuse, coming-of-age, a woman owning her sexuality and seizing her power. Shana Fife has a unique and compelling voice, which she uses with great effect to break with gender and sexuality taboos.’ – Dr Barbara Boswell, author of Grace: A Novel

Shana Fife is a work-from-home mother of three who runs a very successful blog. She has a BA in Live Performance, Music and Film from AFDA Film School and a Certificate in Journalism from City Varsity. She does content production for various businesses. She is a 2019 fellow of the Jakes Gerwel Foundation and NB Publishers’ mentorship programme. Ougat is her first book.

A powerful, fresh and disarming new voice – Shana Fife’s writing is like nothing you’ve read before.

Categories Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Jonathan Ball Publishers New books New releases Ougat Shana Fife