VUT PR master's student publishes first book

26-year-old Katucia Moussongo Bitsaka, a Vaal University of Technology (VUT), Public Relations, Master's Degree student never imagined that she'd one day be a published author. Nor did she plan on pursuing a career in writing.

Bitsaka has published her first book, titled: BLUES - We are all concerned. The book focuses on the effects of depression and rejection. She challenges the societal myth that claims depression as a "stage that will pass". It's an illness that needs to be attended to. Through this book, Katucia aims to help the reader overcome rejection, anxiety and depression.

The 35-page, self-published book was Bitsaka's way of expressing her thoughts and sharing her experiences with others who are going through depression. "I was often overcome by emotions of sadness and feeling lonely, and I thought it best to express this. After observing my peers, I soon realised that I'm not the only one going through these emotions. It was easier for me to write about my observations and experiences. I realised after a few chapters that I was actually working on a book and then I decided to publish it. I published the book myself, I'm also promoting it myself, however, Reach Publishing assisted me with the editing," she said.

The book delves into the life of a young girl named "BLUES", the reader is taken through her life journey and her first experience of rejection - which then leads to a series of events that causes her to go into depression. "I decided to give depression a life-like character, so as to make it easily relatable to the reader. BLUES is a solution to fighting off depression. It takes you through the healing processes and also highlights the importance of faith and prayer," said Bitsaka.

BLUES is Bitsaka's first project. It's currently available as an e-book on Amazon, Kindle, Smash Words and on her Web site www.katuciamoussongo.com. She is currently working on her second book titled: Women Empowerment. With an online magazine that was launched in August, called "Thoughts on life", Bitsaka is proving to be a very busy woman, with a mission to change the world - one book at a time.