Lien Se Langstaan Skoene (2013)

This is a coming of age story about Lien Jooste, a high school girl who’s life fell apart when her father was arrested for fraud and her mother developed a drinking problem. After her father’s arrest they lose everything and go from being an upstanding, affluent family living in a nice neighbourhood, to a broken mess, living in a small flat, struggling to get by. Due to her mother’s drinking, Lien has to take on the role of mother for both her mom and her younger brother Braam. Her only dream is to leave it all behind and start her own life some­where else. After unsuccessfully trying to earn money working first as a waitress at Malie’s Coffee shop and then at the salon owned by Dirkie & Donovan she decides that perhaps begging might be easier. She starts begging (in disguise) at an intersection where she befriends Roos and Tibbey, who show her that her life, compared to others, isn’t that bad after all. When her mother is sent to rehab with the help of the well-meaning Ds. Gerhard and family friend Bets, Lien is even more desperate to be able too make ends meet, while still being the high school girl she’s meant to be. Through many trials and tribulations, she learns to make peace with her circumstances, she discovers that friendship, love, and forgiveness can heal many things and finally finds her place in the world.