Cape Town - Afrikaans writer Karel Schoeman, 77, died on Tuesday at the Noorderbloem retirement home after committing suicide.
According to Maroela Media, Schoeman wrote a letter to his lawyer, Carl van Rensburg in which he revealed his plans to commit suicide.
He gave permission for the information relating to his suicide to be released publically.
Schoeman said he planned his death many years ago and at age 75 first tried and failed to take his own life.
In the letter Schoeman says he considered the legal route of committing suicide by starving himself. According to his lawyer it seems like he found an alternative method to aid him in his decision to stop his own life.
Schoeman’s letter reveals that he did not wish to grow old and didn’t want to face the challenges that comes with it.
Schoeman was an awarded South African novelist, historian and translator who published 19 novels and numerous works of history.