From a story that united a country to a book that gives back, Bronwyn Laird is showing how even the hardest moments can become something that helps others.

Johannesburg, South Africa (25 March 2026) – Eight years later, the story of baby Eden still lives in the hearts of South Africans… but this time, it’s being told in a way we’ve never experienced before.

We recently welcomed Bronwyn Laird back onto Good Things with Brent Lindeque, revisiting a moment that once gripped the entire country. The podcast touches on those days we all remember… the fear, the waiting, the miracle of Eden being found. But what stood out most in our conversation wasn’t just the past… it was everything that came after.

Bronwyn has written a book. Finding Your Eden is not a retelling of headlines. It’s not just the story South Africa followed in real time. It’s the story behind the story… the one that unfolded long after the cameras moved on and the news cycle shifted. It’s deeply personal, incredibly honest, and rooted in a perspective that only someone who has lived through the unimaginable can share.

Back when Bronwyn first joined me in 2018, she said something that has stayed with me ever since:

“We’ve seen miracles happen and prayers answered.

We cannot allow what 6 individuals, 5 of whom we have never even met, what they chose to do, to affect how we see the world, how we evaluate relationships going forward or how we live our lives.

Hate just isn’t in our vocabulary. Hate changes nothing but love changes everything. Love wins.”

At the time, those words felt powerful. Now, reading her book, you realise they were also a promise… a decision about how her family would move forward.

Finding Your Eden unpacks that decision. It explores the complexity of trauma, the weight of public attention, the moments of rebuilding, and the intentional choice to lean into love when it would be easier to hold onto anger. It’s not just about what happened in May 2018, it’s about what it takes to keep going afterwards… as a parent, as a family, and as a human being.

Every single cent from the book, priced at R200 and available here, is going to Dare-2-Care. It turns an already powerful story into something that continues to give back, creating impact far beyond the pages.

The podcast offers a window into that journey, but the book is where Bronwyn truly opens the door.

Sources: Interview with Bronwyn Laird 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:

Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African. 

The post South African Author: Finding Your Eden Turns Pain Into Purpose appeared first on Good Things Guy.

In May 2018, an entire nation waited anxiously for news about a missing baby from Alberton. Eight years later, Bronwyn Laird joins ‘Good Things with Brent Lindeque’ again to share how that terrifying chapter turned into a story of hope, healing and love.

Johannesburg, South Africa (18 March 2026) – Eight years ago, South Africa held its breath. Parents refreshed their phones, communities shared posts at lightning speed and strangers whispered prayers for a tiny baby they had never met. It was a moment when the country collectively leaned forward, hoping against hope for the ending everyone was desperate to hear.

On the 2nd of May 2018, the Pink Ladies organisation for Missing Children in South Africa issued a kidnapped child alert after it was alleged that a domestic worker had taken a baby named Eden for a walk from the family home in Brackendowns, Alberton.

Eden had been tied to her back with a light blue blanket.

She never returned.

The story gripped the nation almost instantly. Minutes turned into hours, hours turned into days, and South Africans across the country found themselves emotionally invested in a story that felt far too close to home. Parents hugged their children a little tighter, timelines filled with messages of support and an entire country hoped for a miracle.

And then four days later… that miracle arrived.

Baby Eden was found and reunited with his family. It was good news that travelled just as fast as the heartbreak had days earlier. Relief swept across the country, and the story restored something powerful in the national spirit: the reminder that hope still exists, even in moments that feel impossibly dark.

Later that same year, Eden’s mom, Bronwyn Laird, joined me in studio on the Good Things Guy podcast to talk about the experience and the emotional whirlwind her family had been through. What she shared that day stayed with many of us long after the microphones were switched off.

“We’ve seen miracles happen and prayers answered,” Bronwyn said at the time.

“We cannot allow what 6 individuals, 5 of whom we have never even met – what they chose to do – to affect how we see the world, how we evaluate relationships going forward or how we live our lives.

Hate just isn’t in our vocabulary. Hate changes nothing but love changes everything. Love wins.”

Now, eight years later, Bronwyn joins me again on this week’s episode of ‘Good Things with Brent Lindeque‘. This time the conversation is about the past but also about the incredible journey that followed. Bronwyn has written a book about the entire ordeal, sharing the raw, human experience of those terrifying days and the powerful lessons that came afterwards. In a full-circle moment, the Good Things Guy podcast and our original conversation even form part of that story.

While the chapter that began in 2018 started with fear and uncertainty, the pages that followed are filled with healing, growth and a family that chose love over bitterness.

Watch and listen to the episode on all our social platforms (like all of them).
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Sources: Good Things with Brent Lindeque 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes and hear their incredible stories:

Or catch an episode of Good Things with Brent Lindeque or our Weekly Top 5 below. The videos here are always changing, updated with the latest episodes from these two shows. Both are part of Good Things TV, created to bring South Africans balance at a time when the news can feel overwhelmingly negative. Our goal is simple: to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in our country – and to leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post The Kidnapping That Shook a Nation and The Miracle That Followed appeared first on Good Things Guy.