Exactly one year after the launch of Find Meaning, Stop Wondering, Dr Solomon Makola, Campus Director at Welkom campus launched his second book entitled Pimp The Pain (Purpose Inspired Dialogues) on 30 May 2018.

The launch was graced by the Executive Mayor of Lejweleputswa, Mr Sebenzile Ngangelizwe, CUT Council Member, Mrs Nomsa Mosuwe, the Director of Unisa Press, local media houses, Goldfields TVET College management, CUT business partners, school principals community and union leaders and the Welkom Campus community.

When compared with the first publication, which aimed at assisting youth and adults to find meaning and achieve success in their studies, the new edition focuses on the life journey of the author (Dr Makola), and how Viktor Frankl’s philosophy of ‘sense of meaning and purpose’ has influenced his life.

The book also introduces the reader to the idiographic method of meaning research, i.e., the intensive psychological study of an individual. In this case, the author is both the researcher and research participant. This was done by exploring three primary ways of finding meaning, 1) What we give to the world, 2) What we take from the world, and 3) the attitudes we attach towards unchangeable circumstance; as well as five areas where meaning can be discovered.

Based on these focus areas, the author describes who he is, what he is like when around others, how people perceive him, what he adores about himself and what he would like to change.

It is worthy to note that the work presented in the book earned Dr Makola the PsySSA Award for Best Practice, which was presented to him by the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) in 2014/15. He was also invited to speak about his new book and launch it at the 10th Biennial International Meaning Conference, hosted by International Network on Personal Meaning in Canada in August 2018. The later conference attracts international delegates from more than 30 countries.

“As a psycho-autobiography (professional memoir and action research), this book serves a dual purpose.  What makes it innovative and original is the real dialogue narratives from the social media (Facebook) where I allowed the public to read the posts on Facebook and interrogate them in the form of a dialogue,” he said.

The book was published by Unisa Press, the largest university press in Africa, publishing academic books and journals. Copies thereof will be available at Van Schaik and other academic bookstores nationwide.

The launch was coupled with a guest lecture on Meaning in the Context of Violence, Poverty and Suffering. The guest speaker, Dr M. A Kanda is a Principal Medical Officer in a Community Mental Health Unit in West Rand District, a Diplomate in Logotherapy and Logotherapy facilitator at the Centre of Applied Psychology at UNISA.

From the Archive

First book launch in 2017, http://www.cut.ac.za/academic/new-book-manual-tool-assist-youth-find-meaning/

Images

1: The Executive Mayor of Lejweleputswa, Mr Sebenzile Ngangelizwe also attended the launch in support of Dr Makola.

2: At the Pimp the Pain launch Dr Makola is joined by Mrs Nomsa Mosuwe, CUT Council Member.