Duduzile Ngwenya under fire: Is her self-help book just empty pages?

Alyssia Birjalal|Published

Duduzile Ngwenya has published "Things I Never Said To Myself", This Time You Return To Yourself" and " You Get Better With Love".

Image: Instagram.

Best-selling independent author and entrepreneur, Duduzile Noeleen Ngwenya, is facing an online storm of criticism about her books, especially her last one, "Things I Never Said To Myself".

"Things I Never Said To Myself" is a self-love poetry collection that shares gentle reminders of love and healing to identify self-sabotage habits. 

After Ngwenya shared snippets of the book on the social media platform X, reactions flooded in, with many questioning the book's apparent lack of substance within the genre.

Critics on X highlighted the book's sparse pages and whitespace, raising concerns about its value.

@CiceroUchih bluntly commented: "A whole lot of nothing. Absolutely nothing."

@Praise99993 said: "Why are the pages so empty with few words???"

While @k1llalbedo cheekily added, "A whole budget spent on quotes I’ll find on Pinterest, I’m crying."

On the other hand, some fans rushed to defend Ngwenya, claiming that the book's minimalist design was intentional, crafted for quick inspiration.

Some of the book's quotes include: "Forgive yourself, for tolerating the unfairness other people put you through", "Don't look for that space (to make mistakes) in other people" and "Some days, loving yourself is being able to breathe, and remind yourself that you're doing okay". 

@BigMamo_ posted: "Saw someone saying she regrets buying the book because she had no idea about the pages, which I found odd and felt like she was just following the hate train because Noeleen has always posted the pages of her book.

"She knew ... All authors always post or read a line when promoting their work. Y'all simply just waited for the opportunity to drag her work."

Meanwhile, @dube_lindi posed a question: "Would you have a better view of the book if she expanded those quotes and gave detailed explanations?"

@Zintathu_L added: "Why are you being so critical of Noleen? She’s doing really well for herself thanks to the very books you’re dismissing."

This backlash follows Ngwenya’s recent triumphs, including the purchase of a new vehicle.

@lindograce1 said: "Why the sudden hate on Noleen? It's the 4x4, ne."