Have you tried dating several times, but with no success? Stressed by the fact that you are not yet married yet pressured by society? Or probably a workaholic who only values work and building your career but still lack happiness? Well, Caroline Numuhire, 32, answers all these questions in her novel titled “Between Wild and Free”, a book that was sparked by the daily lives of young professional women who are trying to triumph in their different careers. Her book responds to people toiling to find the balance between personal and professional lives. The novel also aims to enable readers to have fun, heal and discover the equilibrium between career and individual lives. The author highlights that the book exposes a character, known as Linda, a proficient working woman trying to date but finds it hard yet encounters judgment from society due to her single life. Linda, who represents all women, feels that she is judged by people around her, like family, co-workers, and friends, which leads to self-doubt, as she wishes to date just like anyone else. She discovered that with dating, it’s not like other duties one plans to execute but is rather determined by the stage a person is in their lives. But throughout the journey, she pushes beyond her external wall and discovers who she is. “The further she (the character) took to lower external forces, the more she learned that she hasn’t been in touch with herself. “She didn’t know who she was, what she liked, and regardless of her great career, she hadn’t put herself in the equation and what mattered to her, apart from work,” Numuhire explains. The writer also adds that so far, given the feedback, people have found the book funny, yet encouraging as they can identify with the same issues in the book—a certain shared journey of recognition of their emotions, and knowing that they are not alone. Numuhire says that when you go back to your home, it’s important to ask yourself whether within your thoughts, you feel happy and satisfied, or if you are doing whatever you do to please the outside world. Her wish is that as people find doors to fulfilling jobs, happiness should be valued too. The novelist carries on that one of the reasons as to why marriages have shattered, is because partners rush in to marriage without discovering each other. According to her, when two already self-discovered individuals meet, they will create happiness, and eventually a happy home and society. Numuhire is a Rwandan writer who works in an international development sector. She is passionate about literature, children, flowers, and empowering young people. She uses her writing as a way of advocacy. This is her third book so far, after “Mirror of Stolen Hearts”, and L’Oncle Gynécologue (which was her first novel). Numuhire’s advice to the youth who wish to become authors is to not abandon their dreams, but to read and write as much as they can. “Start with the bad draft, learn from the best, talk to and follow people who are good at writing.” Her book “Between wild and Free” goes for Rwf13, 000 and was published by Imagine We Rwanda. The book is available at Amazon and a soft copy of it can be accessed through the Imagine We Rwanda application. Ikirezi Bookshop is also distributing copies of the book.
