Positively Me by Nozibele Mayaba

Loading player...
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. 

Today’s episode features the phenomenal Nozibele Mayaba, who bares it all in the her memior, Postively Me - Daring To Live And Love Beyond HIV, co-authored with Sue Nyathi.

Born in Qgeberha in the 1990s, popular Aids activist Nozibele Mayaba’s upbringing was one of struggle and strife. She was raised by the tough hand of her mother in the confines of a strict Christian household. Nozibele strove to be the “good girl” that everyone adores to win her mother’s approval and the affection of her absent father.

She lived by the book and was steered by her faith. Hers becomes a life of firsts. She is the first person in her family to travel overseas. The first to graduate from university. It is also her first love, with his infectious smile that infected her with HIV.

This diagnosis throws her life into disarray. Fearing stigma and feeling the need to maintain her “good girl” image, she kept her status a secret. However, she soon succumbed to depression. It is in the aftermath, when she picks up the broken pieces of her life that she finds purpose in all the pain she has endured.

She went public with her story in a video that when viral and launched her onto a new path. Nozibele, who has since gotten married and recently became a mother, has made it her mission to hold open conversations about her journey living with HIV.

Told with gut wrenching honesty, Nozibele is at her most vulnerable in this brave account about what it means to live and love beyond HIV.

In this epsiode of Pagecast, Nozibele is in conversation with seasoned media practitioner Sebenzile Nkambule.

Enjoy!
13 May 2024 English South Africa Books · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Pagecast at OBF 2026: Kirsten Deane and Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane in conversation

For the final recording on Saturday, Kirsten Deane joins Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane in the Pagecast studio at Open Book Festival 2026. Kirsten Deane is the lead editor of English Alive, South Africa’s oldest publication for high school students. Her writing has been published in journals nationally and internationally, and her debut…
5 Sep 16 min

Pagecast at OBF 2026: Lọlá Ákínmádé and Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele in conversation

Next up in the Pagecast studio at Open Book Festival 2026, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele is joined by bestselling author, keynote speaker and award-winning photographer Lọlá Ákínmádé. Lọlá's work has appeared in National Geographic, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Travel, The Daily Telegraph, The New York Times and Lonely…
5 Sep 13 min

Pagecast at OBF 2026: Krystle Zara Appiah and Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele in conversation

Joining Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele next in the Pagecast studio at Open Book Festival 2026 is Krystle Zara Appiah, a British-Ghanaian writer, editor and screenwriter based in London. In 2020, Krystle was one of 40 writers selected for the London Library’s Emerging Writers Programme. Her debut novel, Rootless, was highly acclaimed,…
5 Sep 17 min

Pagecast at OBF 2026: Jessica Horn and Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele in conversation

Joining Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele in the Pagecast studio at Open Book Festival 2026 is (East) African feminist practitioner, writer, ideamonger and award-winning poet, Jessica Horn. Her book, African Feminist Praxis: Cartographies of Liberatory Worldmaking (Sage, 2025), chronicles decades of feminist mobilisation. Taking her archival passion into film, she recently directed…
5 Sep 15 min