Windows and Doors

About the Book

Windows and Doors follows the lives of eleven women in South Africa with the backdrop of a country defined by race, political turmoil, violence, and crime.

Each woman’s personal story will touch you deeply, connecting you not only to them but also to your own challenges, which are at the essence of our experience of being a woman. Each of the characters’ pain reaches far beyond the physical one as they scramble to find the strength to carry on despite their challenging circumstances. Their journeys include pregnancy loss, traumatic childbirth, infertility, cancer, endometriosis, rape, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation.

The author, Caroline Zagel, has over twenty years of nursing and clinical counselling therapy experience. She is a tribute to the many women and their untold stories of resilience and trauma whom she has supported in her years of working in mental health in Southern and Western African. Whilst these are not true stories, they are based on real circumstances in the African counties in which Caroline has worked.

Windows and Doors reveals the complexity of women’s health challenges and the emotional journey that we, as women, endure. All places, names and circumstances have been changed to create fictional stories to protect the confidentiality of individuals whom Caroline has helped over the years.

About the Author

Caroline Zagel is a mother of three children, born and raised in South Africa. She is a degreed teacher and nurse with over 18 years of experience as a counselling therapist. Her diverse career background gives her a wholistic approach towards mental health. She has lived in East, West and Southern Africa, Australia and Germany.

Whilst this is her first novel she is the author of three children’s books which whilst being enjoyable stories also have underlying lessons in resilience to support young readers with tools for mental wellbeing.

Windows and Doors is a dedication to her compassion for women’s health challenges. It is her hope that this book will develop a more compassionate understanding and meaning in what defines us as women in our unique role in reproductive health. She is hoping that many men will also read Windows and Doors to learn more about some of the challenges the women in their lives may face and to understand them in more empathetic ways.

Caroline currently lives and works in Germany where she provides counselling therapy and mental health awareness programs dedicated to the space of preventative skills and strategies to promote health and wellbeing. It is her strong belief that by taking a more proactive stance in mental health we can be better equipped to face the rising global surges in mental health problems.