Riky Rick's mother Louisa Zondo gets candid about grief & healing in book dedicated to her late son

Mother of much-loved music star Riky Rick, who tragically took his own life in 2022, Louisa Zondo, penned a series of letters to her late son when facing grief, and she is ready to share it with the world. 

Louisa is set to release a book, Dearest MaRiky — A Mother’s Journey through Grief, Trauma and Healing, where she expresses her love for her son and the pain of losing him through telling the story of her life and experiences that shaped her, in an effort to understanding her life’s path, and get closer to healing.

“The death of my son changed a lot of what I knew to be life. It unravelled me and left me feeling very lost, disconnected and in unbearable pain. The love generously given by family, friends, Rikhado’s fans, many people who had experienced loss and my spiritual community helped me tremendously.

“At some point, it felt like I could not proceed. I desperately needed help. This is when I started intensive [work] which has been painful and healing at the same time.

“Even though for a long time I felt extreme longing and pain when engaging with memories of my son — images of him, a sense of his presence in various spaces, his music and material on the internet — engaging with the memory of my son was the very thing I was drawn to,” she told TshisaLIVE.

When learning to live with the reality of her son being no more, Louisa says writing the book is an example of newness in her life.

Louisa recalled that when Riky was alive, he expressed the need to know the story of his mother, who is a lawyer and political activist. 

“With time, a heart-warming connection to him was added to a sense of loss. I knew that writing my story would contribute to healing the things that were broken in my life, and in the lives of my sons and family as a whole and I wanted to tell the story. My son’s death led me to a place where I sat in therapy and did some very hard work in that process.”

She hopes telling her story will inspire others to open up and start their healing journey. 

“I hope that the book will inspire all of us to tell our stories and to create a safe space for the sharing of our stories because as we tell our stories, we begin to make sense of what life has done to us and begin to see possibilities of healing from that. I truly hope that the book contributes to supporting other parents through their grief, and to a deep realisation that they are not alone.”

Along with other members of her family, Louisa is also involved in establishing the Riky Rick Foundation in memory of her son, to preserve his legacy.

Read an exclusive extract of Dearest MaRiky — A Mother’s Journey through Grief, Trauma and Healing  in the Sunday Times' May 21 edition ahead of the launch of the book. 

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