Many thousands of women, in South Africa and across the world, have hysterectomies every year. Often they come as a shock, as hers did for Melanie Verwoerd. But aside from the trauma, pain and rage that it caused her, this feisty writer and political analyst used hers to throw a light, not just on her own life, but on understanding the procedure that so many women suffer in silence. Listen here as she tells the story behind her book - and listen further to her own podcast of the same name filled with information and advice.