Since I walked away from my originally profoundly held religious convictions, I wanted to write down my story. The opportunity came more than 15 years later, at the beginning of 2020, during the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic. It included the pact I made with God during my conscription year in the army.

I penned My Religion Story as an essay and sent it to a handful of friends and family. The responses were diverse, from very positive to very negative. One friend encouraged me to put the essay on the internet, as well as expand on it and present it as a memoir. I posted the essay on the Nuwe Hervorming Netwerk (NHN) website (https://www.nuwe-hervorming.co.za/bruwer-swanepoel-my-religion-story/) and started to apply my non-existing writing skills. It took me nearly two years to write the book’s first edition. South Africa is a deeply religious society and mainly Protestant Evangelical, and as the first couple of publishers I approached were not interested, I decided to publish the book myself. I have just published an updated edition to coincide with the launching of this website. www.bruwerswanepoel.com