Elsie Murema releases ‘God Given Influence’

Mother, pastor and author Elsie Murema says the older she grew and the further she went on the journey of life, the more she realised how different everyone is designed and this is what inspired her to write her debut book, ‘God Given Influence’.

Speaking to The Namibian in an interview, Murema said, “This book helps one to discover or rather to identify what their talents are and what their gifts are […] Everything written in this book is meant to help one look at life from a different perspective when it comes to one’s personal influence,” Murema said.

She said she drew inspiration from her mother who was her greatest supporter in her pursuit to become a writer.

According to Murema, she has always had a passion for writing. Her love for writing started in Grade 6 when she would write dialogues. She said a classmate motivated her after he read one of her dialogue books.

“The person that pushed me on this path is my late mother. She believed in me, she told me never to give up my passion if I wanted to become a writer one day […]”

“I think from that time onwards I realised I wasn’t only writing for fun. I realised that I actually had a passion for writing,” she told The Namibian.

Besides being an author, Murema is an entrepreneur and a full-time pastor. She says it took her two years to complete the book, whose draft she wrote by hand in a counter book.

Although her mother died while she was writing the book and she had to stop writing for a few months to mourn, she continued writing in the name of her mother.

“My mother’s death while I was busy with this book was a hard blow. She was my number one supporter who saw my talent in writing and kept encouraging me to write. So, I believe I needed to continue writing to honour her memory,” Murema said.

Quoting from her book, she said, “You are unique in your difference as an individual. People love to do the same things, achieve the same things, but God loves variety, that’s why He created us differently so we can complement one another in our differences.”