When I Was Just a Little Me: A Memoir of Healing the Inner Child

In this powerful and deeply personal memoir, Thapelo Valentine Mokone takes us on a journey through memory, pain, and ultimate healing. Beginning with his earliest memory-lying in a hospital bed as a baby, watching his father leave with the promise "I'm coming back"-Mokone traces the complex relationship with his father, Hamilton, a Navy soldier whose absence would shape the course of his son's life.

Growing up in Mamelodi, Pretoria, young Thapelo navigates a world marked by his father's physical and emotional distance. From nearly dying in a car accident while running to embrace his returning father, to watching him love other children with a presence he never showed his firstborn, to the devastating loss of his grandmother's inheritance-a million rands meant for his education that vanished into his father's parties and alcohol-Mokone's story is one of profound wounding.

But this is not merely a story of pain. It is a testament to resilience, self-discovery, and the power of spiritual connection. After three years of silence, persistent dreams begin calling Mokone back to his father-not for the father's sake, but for his own spiritual completeness. He learns that his father, despite all his failures, remains a conduit for ancestral energy, a link to lineage and heritage that cannot be severed without cost.

Through working beside his father, learning practical skills with his bare hands, Mokone finds a new kind of connection-not the idealized father-son relationship he once dreamed of, but something real, grounded, and sufficient. He learns to forgive, not because his father deserves it, but because he himself needs to be free.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, When I Was Just a Little Me speaks to anyone who has struggled with absent parents, family trauma, or the long journey toward forgiveness. It is a story about becoming the person you needed when you were small-and about the healing that becomes possible when you finally go back for that little one.

Autorentext

Thapelo Valentine Mokone is a South African author and spiritual writer from Mamelodi West, Pretoria.

The Hidden Years (2020?2025): Thapelo began writing in 2020, but it was not yet time. His work lived in mind maps, scattered manuscripts, journaled dreams, and fragments waiting to connect.

The Prophecy (January 2026): Then came Zanele Lillien Mkansi?his Queen. She prophesied that he should write his stories of tragedy and healing. Her words were a spiritual activation.

The Sudden Genius (2026): After Zanele's prophecy, everything shifted. The scattered pieces came together. The mind maps made sense. What was chaos became clarity. Thapelo describes it as "like a sudden genius"?the timing was right and the one who believed in him spoke it into being. In the same year, he began publishing. Over 20 books have emerged.

The Mountain Boy: At nine, Thapelo led friends through dark tunnels while others ran. He stayed. He climbed toward mystery. That same courage now brings light for others.

Raised by Women: His mother, Lucky Louisa Mokone, and maternal grandmother raised him?women of prayer. He is connected to the Lekgetha family through paternal grandmother, Sarah Lekgetha.

His Books:

· Warrior Series: Unbreakable, Warrior Prayers

· Relationship Series: The Queen Within, Two Lines Two Hearts One Light, The Energy Between Us

· Foundation Series: Faith Like My Mother, What Grandma Taught Me, The Mantle of the First Born

· Memoirs & Guides: When I Was Just a Little Me, Inseparable Bond, Maintain the Father, The Wilderness Years, Learning to Breathe Again, Secret Oil, Holiness, The Making of a Rebel, The Therapy of Work

He writes for the healing of many nations. He lives in Mamelodi West and is preparing for public speaking?with Zanele by his side.

Author's Statement: "For five years, I gathered scattered pieces. Then Zanele spoke, and everything fit. The mountain boy who stayed when others ran now writes so others can rise."