Son of My Parents by Tosin Olukuade.

Son of My Parents is a sequel to the author's previous book Son of My Father, click Here for my review.
I looked forward to reading this book as the first book was in honour of Tosin's father, I was eager to read about his parents and maybe get more insights into their marriage and parenting style and I must say I was not disappointed.
This book Son of My Parents was in honour of the author's parents 50th wedding anniversary. Using his parent's experience in marriage, Tosin shared the factors that enabled a lovely and lasting marital relationship between them.
In the first chapter of this book, we are introduced to Tosin's parents and he shed more light on the definition of a parent, and the factors that makes one an exceptional parent, which according to the author, his parents fit that description perfectly

Parenthood, as simply defined, is the state of being a parent and meeting the responsibilities involved.

The author also shed light on the difference between being a parent by the virtue of giving birth to a child and actually being responsible for the child's wellbeing.

The next chapter titled Before the beginning - The Bolekaja ride - is my number one favourite, It gives the readers an insight into the relationship between Tosin's parents before they got married and their friendship with another couple, who later became Tosin's parents Best man and woman at their wedding. It is worthy to note that the friendship that started on the Bolekaja ride is still in existence to date. A chapter was dedicated to the author's parents wedding ceremony with pictures.

Chapter 4, another favourite chapter of mine is titled "HE IS THE HEAD". It is somewhat controversial but worth reading. The author made a remarkable effort in enlightening readers as to who is the head of a Christian home and how the acceptance of that headship can be the bedrock to a successful marital relationship. The author also wrote about the partnership, mutual respect and friendship that existed in his parents marriage based on the acceptance of Christ as the head of their home. He expatiated on that point with this statement.

To buttress this, let's go back to the beginning when God instituted the first marriage between Adam and Eve, He was the head of that marriage, not Adam. Adam and Eve were united as one who were in submission to the will of their Father who was the head of their home. As long as that , God's arrangement for them subsisted, everything was in perfect condition as the creator ordained it to be. They received instruction from their Father and everything was perfect.

He went on to add

Not until that arrangement was scuttled by them yielding a usurper cut off their connection to God the Father and his original plan did the father introduce their new mode of operation as a consequence of their action and not as a matter of his original intention
Therefore he said to the woman, "your desire shall be to your husband and he shall rule over you". This narrative erroneously is what men have practised for donkey years without realising that it's the narrative of the consequence of the fall, not the narrative originally intended by God.
Hence the patriarchal narrative has held sway for a long time and women have continually been at the receiving end of it and that in many cases has been very unpleasant.

This chapter largely emphasised on the oneness and equality of both man and woman in the institution called marriage and how the unity between couple can also be a contributing factor into the success of the union. The author posed a question at the end which is worth pondering on.

Subsequent chapters were interviews conducted by the author with his parents as the interviewee and their Best man and woman at their wedding. It is amazing that they are still friends till date and worthy of celebration is that they are all alive and well.

His parents talked about how they met and how they overcame every challenge that came their way during the course of their 50 years of marriage especially when his dad was diagnosed with glaucoma. As expected it was a trying period for the couple but due to their resolve for a successful marriage, they communicated to one another the best way they knew how and worked their way through it. They also discussed their parenting style in raising blessed and successful children.

I love this advice given by Tosin's mum And to intending couples, more than anything, your values must align before you even mouth the idea of marriage. If your values are not compatible and you decide to go ahead, it would only be a matter of time before that marriage would snap

Their friends also gave an insight to the mutual love and respect that existed between the author's parents during their years of courtship and even when they got married.

Chapter seven Titled For Better, For Worse - A myth or truth? In this chapter, the author's summation in this chapter lends credence to the part that Marriage is for better, for worse. He backed this with verses from the Bible. 
And God the creator of heaven and earth had this to say "I create light and darkness" Definitely, there is a purpose for light and there is a purpose for darkness. So also, I believe there is a place for better for worse.
The author tried in this chapter to make readers understand that no journey in life is devoid of challenges, most especially in marriage and I agree with him. He advocated for unity between couples to overcome all the challenges life throws. 
There were beautiful pictures of the family and a special request by the author's father that was granted, and it was such a sweet and respectful request.

The final chapter was dedicated to the author's experience of his parents. He paid homage to his exceptional parents and wrote about the love and support they gave him over the years. He also wrote about how his take on marriage and how he knows his marriage too will be as successful as his parents and I say a loud AMEN to that.

This book is overall a good read and has insightful advice for new and intending couples.

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's wives By Lola Shoneyin

I often feel embarrassed when I am asked if I have read "The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives". For some reason the opportunity to read this book has somehow eluded me, even after a failed attempt by my mum to get the book across to me, It landed in another person's hands and I never got it. Recently, I was asked again if I have read this book and I just made a mental note in my head to purchase it as soon as possible. I did!!

This novel is a thought provoking, funny yet tragic one. It contains vivid depiction of tragic events surrounding the characters in gory details. It also highlights injustice girls, women and men face in their every day lives in a society like Nigeria. I am glad that I got to read this novel now because I believe I have evolved to a stage where I can understand clearly the subtle message the writer was trying to pass across. The novel is centred on polygamy.

Lola Shoneyin writes this book with confidence which makes it really engaging and hard to put down. She combines beautifully irony, humour, sensitivity, empathy and karma in her description of the circumstances these characters find themselves in.

Narration in this novel moves from a third person's narrative to a first person and sometimes second person. Some of these narration goes back to the character's past and also present. In my opinion, the narration enables readers to have an insight into the characters, the concealed societal issues of gender inequalities and the complicated daily living arrangement in polygamous homes.
The main characters included Baba Segi, Iya Segi, Iya Tope, Iya Femi and Bolanle - the fourth wife.

These wives except Iya Segi and Iya Tope - 1st and 2nd wives got married to Baba Segi as a way out and all of them felt they were not deserving of marrying a rich and largely ignorant man, hence they did all they could to remain married to him which made them all have a common secret, well except Bolanle.

Baba Segi prioritised his children above his wives and his quest for more children after having seven was what unravelled the secrets his wives had.
The first three wives had a common secret that was common knowledge to three of them and not once did they blurt it out to anyone outside the three of them despite few verbal altercations. Their reluctance to be friendly to the fourth wife because of her 'graduate' status and thereby possibly sharing that common secret with her was probably their undoing.

Baba Segi is described as an uneducated hardworking, relatively successful, ignorant, misogynist and polygamous man who vomits and poops in his pants when he gets upsets. His wives except Bolanle are equally uneducated, ignorant and conniving. For the provision of a home and financial support, his wives, pamper cook, clean for him and massage his ego.

Bolanle (A university graduate) the central character of this book gets married to Baba Segi against her mother's wish and beneath her mother's expectations.
When Bolanle was introduced into the household, as predicted she was not welcomed and to worsen the situation, she didn't get pregnant despite all the 'pounding' she received from Baba Segi. It was funny reading the dialogues she was having with herself as regards the plans she had for everyone in the household. Unfortunately that plan fell flat on arrival!!

The wives especially Iya Segi and Iya Femi did all they could to make Bolanle's stay in their home unbearable, from accusing her of Juju, to banning her friends from coming to visit her, to not allowing Baba Segi to get her an arm chair. That was a priviledge reserved for women with children, they told Baba Segi but due to Bolanle's secret and firm resolve, she didn't bulge, she stayed put in the house.

Her inability to get pregnant upsets Baba Segi, what upsets him more is her snobbish attitude towards alternative medicine and prophets. Her presence in his home has already created tension and unease amongst his wives. He could not place his hand on the cause of unease and tension, after all he shared his time with them equally and based on his myopic thoughts, he thinks if she gets pregnant, there will be less tension.  He finally takes her to the hospital based on the advise he received from his friend 'Teacher', this visit to the hospital reveals all the layers of secrets in his household.

It was heart warming to read that there was no judgement from the health officials when Bolanle revealed her secret and even though Baba Segi had his normal stomach problem after he heard it, not once during the course of reading this book did he reveal it to anyone.

There were a few questions that comes to mind while reading this novel, foremost of them is why will a beautiful university graduate choose to get married to an uneducated and ignorant man who already has a house full of children and wives and who's sense of hygiene is questionable?

Why did the wives feel intimidated by Bolanle's presence in their home?

What was the secret all the wives had?

All these questions and many more that comes to mind were answered in this novel.

I was pleasantly surprised at the tail end of the novel with Baba Segi's edifying response to Akin - his eldest son's statement to him "My father, I want to be a man about this but I fear I am not"

and his response - "Akin, you are more than a man for it is only a true man who acknowledges weakness. Your sister will watch over you from the next world. Know this and let it strengthen you" 

Another pleasantly surprising moment for me was when Bolanle advised Segi when she was out hanging out with her crush and his friends "A real woman must always do the things she wants to do, and in her own time too. You must never allow yourself to be rushed into doing things you're not ready for"

I was slightly disappointed that the wives did not apologise to Bolanle for what they did to her.
It was hard not to feel sorry for Baba Segi as he was also a victim of a patriarchal society alongside his wives and children.

This novel was predictable at the beginning but it took quite a few unexpected twists and turns.
The end was superb and exhilarating. I was superbly pleased for Bolanle , the lessons she learnt and her resolve to be better.

This novel is a feminist delight, a must read for everyone.

NAKED: A JOURNEY TO SELF BY ESE ARK.- REVIEW

                           

Naked chronicles the author's life experiences from childhood through womanhood then motherhood. It is truly a journey to self where she went through pain, forgiveness and healing to be free from the shackles of shame and guilt.

She also shared what these experiences meant to her and the teachings she got from them. You are bound to resonate with this book with one or more of the experiences shared.

She starts the book with her birth story based on what she heard from her parents. She proceeds to the next chapter to talk about Family and starts the chapter with this "One of my favourite scientists said that if we trace the lineage of every person alive today we will find that we are all related. We'd find that our ancestors are the same. My question then became what's with the division along lines of race, class, blood and water?" That question was addressed in the book. Also she posted a question worth pondering on "Is blood thicker than water"? It was addressed in this chapter too and what I got from it is that we as human beings are more alike than we are different in spite of all the factors that divides us.

Ese wrote about School - the beginning of group-think and I think a lot of people will connect to it. The chapter explored our ability to conform so easily that we as humans find it hard to evolve from that stage to the next - breakaway stage. Where we end up creating our paths on our own.

"School should be a place where a person learns 'how' to think, not 'what' to think. School should encourage individuality over group thinking".

She also wrote about people pleasing and how like many young women she wanted to be on everyone's good side, how she thought she was inferior to boys and how she often had to package herself in a way that appeals to boys/men. I found this chapter, Chapter 6 really insightful as it explores the different ways boys and girls were brought up and this in turn has created a not so level playing field when they grow to become men and women respectively. At the end of this chapter, a couple of poignant questions were raised and they are worth pondering on.

A chapter each was dedicated to the author's experiences with money, sex and lies. She also wrote about how she sought people's validation in real life and via social media. The act of seeking for validation according to the author was an exhausting process and had to take it off when she had enough. She shared her experience with a therapist and how she became aware of different personality disorders.

"Seeking validation from others is like something hanging around your neck. It weighs you down and stops you from moving as quickly as you would like. What you don't realise is that you can take it off when you realise you don't need it. I took it off when I got tired enough"

Ese also shared her experiences with religion, her questions and factors that turned her to Christianity. There were no details as to how the affair between Ese and the pastor started, but she shared all that she had to go through, how she overcame depression, guilt and shame after the scandal. Some women shared with her stories of  their affairs with their pastors and this one was heart breaking for me

One of them was a teenager who said her mother took all her children to be deflowered by their pastor. She said she knew something was wrong with that experience but she had never been able to share her story because she was afraid and confused.

I found the chapters dedicated to her relationship with her mother titled Pain- The Mother Wound, Marriage and Childbirth really powerful. The flip flop of emotions she had to contend with in her marriage, during child birth and  afterwards were so surreal and these are chapters most women will connect with. She admitted to almost failing in all of these and her ability to admit this is admirable. She was not afraid to share her vulnerabilities and fear during this journey to herself.

I particularly found this excerpt exhilarating

Healing the mother wound was not just helpful to my relationship with my mum and family, it was particularly important for my romantic relationship and how I show up in my world. I haven't gotten it all completely sorted out yet, but I am no longer afraid to live and I will not make myself small on account of any relationships. I have permission to live my best life. That permission comes from being born and it doesn't need any outside approval or validation.
I am enough

Contrary to popular expectations, this book is not a scandalous tell-all book where the writer comes off as a victim - NO!! She fully acknowledged all the paths she had to go through on this journey and it is commendable that she holds no grudge against all the people she encountered. She is shame and guilt free.

It is a well written and honest book penning her experiences and thoughts on factors she encountered on her journey to self . She also shared how she intends to help boys/men, girls/ women on their self discovery journey through her platforms, MTGT and Femina Speaks respectively. While reading this book, I could not help but think it reiterates a statement she made on her very popular blog  post "I AM A WOMAN, I BEND, I DON'T BREAK". These experiences have bent her into the strong and conscious woman she is now.

It will also help you if you are on the journey to self or are about to embark on that journey.

Naked: A Journey to Self is available on Amazon and Okadabooks

BORN A CRIME BY TREVOR NOAH - REVIEW

If you have been bypassing this book in the bookshops because you think it's one of those shallow, lack of depth books most times written by a celebrity, you are in for a shocker - a positive one. Just do yourself a favour and moonwalk back to that aisle and pick up this book, It is worth it.
                          
Trevor Noah is not only a brilliant and witty comedian, he is also a brilliant writer.  He has a way of drawing you into his world and making you yearn for more of his stories as he serves the pre-ambles as a bait. In the first chapter of the Book - Run. He shared a scary story about how his mum threw him out of a moving car in a successful attempt to save his life. Before he got to the story, he shared some preambles and I like to think of them as baits. These preambles helped readers understand the background behind the story. I almost heard myself screaming in my head arrrrrrrggghhh!!!, get to the part already! and he did. At the end of the chapter I was in awe and admiration of the beautiful friendship and genuine love between  mother and son.
A woman he describes as his first fan. This book is an awesome tribute to the phenomenal woman that gave birth to him.
"For my mother. My first fan. Thank you for making me a man".

Trevor Noah was born in apartheid South Africa and because his dad is a white and his mum black, based on the laws of the land, he was "Born a Crime"

He went through phases where he had to be hidden at home and most times his mum would dress up as a maid to be able to go out with him.

"I didn't have any friends. I didn't know any kids besides my cousins. I wasn't a lonely kid - I was good at being alone. I'd read books, play with the toy that I had, make up imaginary worlds. I lived inside my head. To this day you can leave me alone for hours and I'm perfectly happy entertaining myself. I have to remember to be with people".

He experienced the privilege of being a white man in a black community as he was mostly given preferential treatment. His grandmother found it difficult to beat him as she would his cousins and this was largely due to the colour of his skin.

"A black child, I understand. A black child, you hit them and they stay black. Trevor, when you hit him he turns blue and green and yellow and red. I've never seen those colour before. I'm scared I'm going to break him. I don't want to kill a white person. I'm so afraid. I'm not going to touch him". And she never did"

Trevor Noah is well qualified to talk about racism both from a privilege and oppressed point of view as he has experienced both during the apartheid years of South Africa.

Every Truth of his shared in this book is laced with humour and we get to marvel at not only how brilliant Trevor is as a comedian but also as a writer.

Trevor Noah's life is an apt description of a person who rose from the very bottom of the ladder to the very top. He rose from being a South African township boy to the anchor of one of the biggest shows in the world. As a black South African the odds of being successful was against him. The difference between him and other black kids he grew up with, is his mother. He described her as being rebellious, I think she is a great non-conformist.

"My mom raised me as if there were no limitation on where I could go or what I could do. When I look back I realize she raised me like a white kid - not white culturally, but in the sense of believing that the world was my oyster, that I should speak up for myself, that my ideas and thoughts mattered"

She taught him to be open minded and to question authority. Of course she was not always thrilled when he questioned her authority but unlike most moms she answered his questions to a large extent and sometimes she just says the word Sun'qhela, and that signifies the end of their argument or discussion.
They even devised a means of communication, that allowed both of them opportunity to argue their sides without interruptions. This was especially advantageous for Trevor's Mum as Trevor was quick on his feet with counter arguments. They wrote letters to one another while living in the same house......
Her rebellious nature enabled her and Trevor to thrive in the hostile community they lived in.

He learnt from a very young age that language had a way of connecting people to one another.

"I soon learned that the quickest way to bridge the race gap was through language. Soweto was a melting pot: families from different cultural groups, and thus different homelands. Most kids in township spoke only their home language, but I learned several languages because I grew up in a house where there was no option but to learn them."

Born a Crime is collection of beautifully written stories and a great page-turner. I also think that everyone will one way or the other find a connection with some or just one of the stories.

Who chooses to go to jail instead of facing his mum?
Who goes to a Jewish school to perform and ends his performance with asking the audience to give it up for Hitler?
Who unwillingly goes to church every Sunday morning and does not get home till late at night?
Who takes a whole year to plan for a prom and a date and both end in disaster?
Who was up to mischief and joined other people in looking for the culprit?

Typically, I find it difficult reading books on domestic violence and racism and I must say Born a Crime falls right into that category. On this occasion though, it was not difficult for me to read at all and this is no small measure due to the brilliance of Trevor Noah's writing skill.

Who writes about shit and makes it sound like you are listening to Oprah on one of her super soul sunday session?
Who writes about racism and apartheid in an intriguing yet funny way?
Who writes about his experience in a South African jail in such witty and funny way?

He wrote about his early childhood years, his troubled years in high school- he was unable to fit in with the white kids or mixed race kids like himself, he found solace with other black kids. He wrote about his brief time in jail and his years as a hustler selling pirated CDs and Djing at parties.

He also wrote about his mum's marriage to his step dad and the abuse they both had to endure in the hands of his step dad. The last chapter of the book shed more light on this and I must say that was the part that almost moved me to tears. His mum was failed by the Police and Society. She had to do what was right for herself and children and it almost cost her life.
For the first time while reading the book I sensed Trevor's fear at the thought of losing his mum but mercy said NO!
He was unable to wrap his head around why his mum didn't die. His mum believed God saved her. The doctors said it was a miracle. Even on her hospital bed, they were still able to laugh and bond like the team that they had always been.

This is a compelling book that takes you through the life and experiences of a black person during the apartheid years and mostly after. It can be described as funny, tragic and at the same time have you screaming "Oh dear!! What the hell have you done"?
Every story shared by Trevor in this book, no matter how funny and they aren't all, reiterate the fact that race is a determining factor on all issues in South Africa.
This book is for you, if you are interested in Race, Domestic Violence and the before and After years of Apartheid.