Rachel Kolisi’s new memoir: finding purpose and faith beyond the public eye

“There are stories you can tell on camera, and then there are the truths that need the quiet space of a page to be fully understood,” said Rachel Kolisi.

“Writing ‘Falling Forward’ was about stepping beyond the public narrative to own my voice completely.

This is about the private moments of breaking and rebuilding. My hope is that women reading the book find companionship in its pages and realise that falling isn’t the end - it's often how we find our way to who we were always meant to be.”

Kolisi’s memoir, written in collaboration with Zibu Sithole, was recently released alongside her documentary of the same name.

While the documentary offers a visual and emotional window into her life, the book allows for deeper reflection.

“The documentary captures moments. It brings people into the journey visually and emotionally and allows them to reflect on their own story. But it’s still just a window into the story,” she explained.

“The book goes much deeper. Writing allowed me to slow everything down and really unpack what was happening internally, my thoughts, my goals, my fears, my faith and the questions that I was asking myself along the way. There are layers of emotion and context that you simply can’t always show on screen.”

Kolisi sees the documentary as an invitation into her journey and the book as a deeper conversation.

“It’s where I could be more vulnerable, more reflective and more honest about the complexities of navigating change, identity,\ and starting again,” she said.

When asked about the most challenging part of writing her memoir, Kolisi reflected on the process of revisiting her own life.

“I think the most challenging part was allowing myself to be fully honest, not just about what happened within my life, but about how it felt in those moments."

"There’s a difference between telling a story and truly reliving it. Writing ‘Falling Forward' meant sitting with the discomfort, the uncertainty, the grief and acknowledging parts of myself that I was still learning to understand at the time."

Kolisi added, "There were moments that I wanted to soften or move past quickly, but I knew that if I did that, the story wouldn’t be honest. The breaking is just as important as the rebuilding."

"In many ways, writing the book became part of my healing. It forced me to reflect, to take ownership and ultimately to see how much growth can come from the hardest seasons of our lives.”

At its core, “Falling Forward” is about resilience and renewal. Kolisi speaks about falling as a catalyst for purpose and self-discovery.

“My biggest hope is that people walk away knowing that falling doesn’t mean failing. So often we attach shame to the moments where things don’t go as planned, where life looks different from what we expected, but those moments can be the beginning of something new,” she said.

Her message is particularly directed at women and young readers in South Africa.

“I want them to know that they are allowed to evolve. You are allowed to outgrow spaces, to start again, to choose yourself and to redefine what your life looks like even when it’s hard, even when it’s messy. There is strength in vulnerability, and there is purpose in the rebuilding."

"If my story does anything, I hope it gives someone the courage to keep going, to trust the process, and to believe that even in the falling, you are still moving forward.”