I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other. This is the only story I will ever be able to tell.
– Donna Tartt, The Secret History
You know, when I used to get really sad in the place I used to live, I would smile and jump up and down and say, ‘I’m not really here! I’m
not really here!’
– Kimmy Schmidt, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

In November 2019, Deon Wiggett’s sensational weekly podcasts held South Africa in thrall as he hunted down the paedophile who raped him as a schoolboy. Now, in My Only Story, he completes his exposé of
Willem Breytenbach, the once brilliant teacher and later media luminary who led a predatory life.Deon’s mission to expose his abuser takes him from Breytenbach’s high-school years at an agricultural
school in South Africa’s hinterland to the famous Grey College in Bloemfontein and the media titan Naspers. But his quest reveals so much more. As he traces systemic failures through schools great and
small, he uncovers a culture of complicity that poses a clear and present danger to the country’s children.
While investigating men who prey on boys and girls, Deon devises a model that anyone can use to identify paedophiles in their midst. In his own words: ‘It’s pleasant to pretend that men don’t rape
children, but once you accept that they do, it becomes surprisingly easy to recognise their trickery. Once you match a universal pattern to a specific man’s profile, you can spot the deceit before it is too late.’
My Only Story is a riveting, thoughtful and often irreverent account of one man’s determination to overcome childhood trauma; to help others face their demons; and to extract some beauty from the
boyhood he lost.

Deon Wiggett was briefly a journalist before he left the industry for an 18-year copywriting career, where he won awards from D&AD, The One
Show and Loeries, among others. He is now a full-time writer and activist committed to helping other men heal by bringing their rapists to justice. When Deon is not on a soapbox, he lives in Johannesburg with his husband and four cats.