Nadia Owusu’s memoir, Aftershocks, takes the reader through the many trials and tribulations of her life. From continent to. continent and country to country, Owusu wrote of the many hardships she endured, which ultimately shaped her as a woman. While I appreciated the insight into her life, and the eye opening obstacles she had to overcome, there were times when I felt frustrated with her actions and negative outlook. For an example, a good portion of her story revolved around the jealousy she felt towards her stepmother. While I can forgive these feelings and actions from adolescent Owusu, her current day adult self was unapologetic and self righteous about her actions. Owusu has a lot of hurt and trauma that has followed her into adulthood, which is all this book is about. Rather than delivering a message of healing, this book felt like an unhealthy coping mechanism in the form of a long rant. Much like when having a conversation with a friend that needs a ranting session, this book felt all over the place and often got confusing with the timeline skipping around within chapters.

Overall, while the writing could be very beautiful at times, I struggled to get through this one.

3.5 ⭐️
This book is part literary memoir and part cultural history. It is about the author’s struggle with her identity with a Ghanian father and an Armenian-American mother who abandoned her. Bouncing between Africa and Europe and finally landing in the US, this book also shows Nadia’s struggles with her mental health.
This was a really good way to get an outlook about people dealing with mental health issues due to abandonment. I liked how the author's family being global citizens and moving around was explained, tying it up with the history and politics of the countries that they lived in. The writing is poignant and raw.

Wow, this book packs a wealth of perspectives and cultural understanding in its pages. Memoirs have the power to convey the experiences of their authors in ways that can teach us so much more and this book delivers on that. The author have so many diverse experiences from Africa to be being African in various places in Europe to America. Along the way there is also a lot of African cultural history included. The memoir is well-written and the earthquake motif helps drive home the points the author is making about the experiences she shares. I would definitely recommend this memoir and I think it will continue to be a memorable one throughout 2021.

Nadia Owusu has penned an engaging and reflective new memoir focused on universal themes of home, abandonment, identity and autonomy. - featured in my Ms. Magazine column 1/13/2021

Nadia Owusu has been a writer her entire life. In fact, she’s been journaling about her life and family travels to faraway locations since she was a young girl. Because her Ghanaian father worked for the UN, she lived a rather posh, nomadic life. "Moving on was what we did," she tells us. Born in Tanzania, she lived in Italy, England, Uganda, Ethiopia, and many more locale.

“Aftershocks” is mostly a reflection of Owusu’s early childhood—including being abandoned by her mother—and finding her “home.” At 18, she puts down roots in New York City to become a student. As a young adult, she shares her many adventure with men.

As readers, we learn what it’s like for a biracial girl to live a life of privilege with access to private schools and hired help. But when Owusu’s father dies, she’s left to fend for herself at the young age of 13 (and lives with her semi-abusive stepmother).

Owusu reveals her feelings as an angsty teen who takes drugs, has sexual encounters, experiences racism, and many more traumatic events. She also talks of sexual abuse.
Each chapter references the theme of an earthquake, including “Foreshocks,” “Faults,” “Aftershocks” and more. As the publisher’s blurb says, this is “about the push and pull of belonging, the seismic emotional toll of family secrets, and the heart it takes to pull through.”

While Owusu is vulnerable in her feelings of grief, abandonment, guilt and a sense of not belonging, she often repeats stories throughout the book. Likely because it’s non-linear. For example, she speaks often about her father’s illness and grappling with his betrayal. It’s almost as if some of the chapters were written as separate short stories and then pieced together for this book. It’s well written, just a bit monotonous at times.

Throughout, Owusu tries to find herself and claim an identity in an attempt to save herself. In dealing with her abandonment issues, she takes to drinking and men. In the end, she finds solace, self-love and her own identity—not through the bottle or love of others.

She realizes that she doesn’t have to have a “home.” “I am made of the earth, flesh, ocean, blood and bone of all the places I tried to belong to and all the people I long for. I am pieces,” she write. “I am whole. I am home.”

There were pieces of this memoir that were very much cultural historical depictions of the countries she lived in. I was not expecting this, and so was a bit thrown off. Maybe a bit bored? That’s why this is a 3-star memoir for me.

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for the advanced digital copy, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. I also purchased and listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the author.

This poetic, heart wrenching memoir follows Nadia Owusu through her lifelong search for an identity and a home. From her mother's unexplained desertion when she was only two, she never felt a connection to any one place, as her father, an employee of a UN delegation, was transferred regularly. I loved her writing and the fact that she was able to gain several degrees and be recognized for her accomplishments.

Owusu's coming-of-age memoir is intense! It's deeply nuanced and the layers of the topics she dives into pulled at my heart strings. There are parts of her story that are quite sad and must have been difficult to navigate as a young child, but it was also those experiences that made her into this incredibly independent, and very strong, women.

Owusu writes eloquently and makes the experiences feel personal, even though I've never been in any of the same situations. I loved how she related her life's events metaphorically to earthquakes; it was a connection that really made sense to me. Owusu covers an a lot of topics - racism, colorism, stuggles with her relationship with her mother and stepmother, grief and the loss of her father, the Armenian genocide, mental health, etc - as well as a lot of locations around the world - Tanzania, London, Rome, New York, Uganda, etc - that was quite fascinating.

This is a memoir, but it also a cultural and historical journey. I really enjoyed this one!

After being abandoned by her mother at age 2 and the death of her father at age 13, Nadia Owusu spent her childhood adrift, moving across the globe. By the time she started college in the U.S., she struggled to bring together the various versions of herself from so much upheaval. Her experience forced her to examine what it means to be yourself while coming of age with so much change and uncertainty.

This is an emotional and moving memoir, told in a non-linear timeline with beautiful prose. It focuses around the central metaphor of an earthquake, in which you can't recognize the largest shock, and which smaller quakes will be the before and aftershocks, until it's over. Owusu has so much trauma in her past, and she's able to reflect on it with such wisdom and understanding. I especially appreciate the humanity with which she views people who hurt her or failed her as a child. Definitely not an easy read, but powerful.

Nadia Owusu's life story is one of belonging, love, loss, grief, identity, struggle, and purpose. This powerful and captivating memoir encapsulates Nadia's intersectionality: Of her gender, of her family position, and of belonging - yet not belonging - to the cultures and ancestry that runs through her veins. Nadia bravely takes readers on her journey through moving around to various countries as a child, her birth mother's abandonment, her tenuous relationship with her stepmother, her closeness with her father, her overwhelming grief upon his death, living in the U.S. as a citizen but also a stranger, and ultimately her exploration to find herself and a sense of "home".

Born to a Ghanaian father and an Armenian mother, growing up in Italy and England and Tanzania and Ethiopia and Uganda, speaker of multiple languages -- Nadia Owusu's struggle with self-identity, grief, emotional trauma, and belonging are so raw and so honest, her words will burrow into readers' hearts and minds. In Aftershocks, Nadia metaphorically relates life to all aspects of an earthquake beautifully and expertly: how certain events are tremors hinting at the danger to come, fault lines where it is obvious danger will occur, the lasting damage cause by the earthquakes themselves, and the aftershocks from catastrophic events that will forever ripple.

Anyone struggling with self-identity can relate to so much of Owusu's work in this book, while also receiving a masterful lesson in cultural history. Reading this book, however, I found some sections to feel a bit disjointed from the flow of the book, or almost tangent-like. This could be Owusu's literary device to further represent aftershocks and the ripple effect of catastrophic events, but for me personally I struggled to focus at times. In the Acknowledgements, it is mentioned that parts of Aftershocks have previously appeared in other publications such as The New York Times and the Columbia Journal; therefore, I'm inferring that portions of this book may have been standalone-type essays and may explain why they didn't quite "flow" for me. But otherwise, this was just a phenomenal work that I recommend to anyone looking for a powerful story or even just looking for themselves...

**Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.**

“Earthquake: a great upheaval

Note: In an earthquake, the greatest risk to human life is the collapse of man-made structures. Reinforced structures can survive large earthquakes with minimal damage, but even a very small earthquake can destroy structures not built with adequate protection against shaking.”

Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu is a captivating, honest, haunting and beautiful memoir about identity and belonging. She is the daughter of a proud Ghanaian father (her hero) and an Armenian mother who abandoned her at the age of two (although she would reappear from time to time). She tells her story by going back and forth through time and place. Her journey spans across continents and she vividly and candidly shares stories of growing up in Rome, Addis Ababa, Kampala, Dar es Salaam, Kumasi, London and finally New York. I probably forgot a few countries, but you get the point.

To say that Nadia’s life has been chaotic and/or traumatic would be an understatement. Her mother abandons her, her father remarries and she has a tumultuous relationship with her stepmother (to say the least) and then her father passes away causing the ultimate shift in her life and puts a magnifying glass on love, loss, home, and belonging.

From country to country and year to year, Nadia takes the reader on a riveting journey and uses earthquakes as a metaphor for the events in her life. “An earthquake is the ground breaking and the heart breaking. It is frictional forces and literary device. A fault is a weakness. A woman’s body is a weakness. A wound is a weakness I can’t help but pick at. Some wounds never heal.” A lifetime of heartbreak and longing to belong leads Nadia to a total breakdown where she is sure that she is going mad and struggles with depression and anxiety as she tries to hold it together.

This book drew me in from the very beginning. I kept wanting to get back to it and wondering where she would end up next and when (or if) she would find peace, happiness and home. Although there were many tragic events, there was so much beauty in her words and revelations. Beyond the story of her personal life, her writing is quite educational. I learned about all of the countries she has once called home and the countries of her parents. She takes time to discuss the role of colonialism, race, colorism, privilege and religion and weaves it all into her reflective stories. Her life is so different from mine, but I felt connected and found similarity in her experiences. I became so invested in this book and was rooting for her the whole way through.

Halfway through the book, I sent the author a DM to tell her that this book is absolutely captivating. I have never done that before. I am giving this one 4.5 stars. Kudos to Nadia Owusu.

Many thanks to Bibliolifestyle, Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the advanced copies.

Nadia Owusu's memoir Aftershocks is heartbreaking and lyrical, shifting between different cities she grew up in - her birth city of Dar es Salaam, Rome, London, New York City, Kampala - at different periods of her life. Twice abandoned by her mother, first at the age of two and again following the death of her father when she was 13, Nadia struggles with her identity. She sees herself as Ghanaian, European, American, Armenian and Black all at once and not at all. Sheltered and insulated by the privileges afforded her as the daughter of a UN employee, she grows up struggling to reconcile who she is with who she thinks she ought to be and what others expect her to be. Different incidents lead to reconciling her "proper" manners with her biracial appearance, which makes Owusu question herself, where she comes from and where to call home.

Owusu touches on her struggles with mental illness, racism, religion, and family. She deals with sexual abuse and abandonment. She talks about historical events in the countries she's lived in and how colonialism and slavery shaped Ghana. She grapples with the aftershocks of a fight with her stepmother, and how it changes her perception of her entire life.

This is beautifully written but sometimes I struggled with the non-linear timeline. She jumps around and adds in historical context, sometimes at length and to the detriment of her story. I'm guessing she assumes the reader knows little to nothing of the background of the countries she's lived in. It's helpful but at times does not seem to tie in with her personal story. I do see this as a memoir that will linger in the minds of readers for quite a while and will be at the forefront of the evolving discussions on race, identity, and mental illness across many different countries.

" 'Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.' But what is truth when you cannot be sure of who you are?"

This book has a solid place on my list of nonfiction I think everyone should read. The author does an amazing job keeping your attention with her beautiful writing.

I cried SOOO MUCH reading this. I love.

My experience of the book ran parallel to the feelings Owusu was trying to convey in her memoir. The beginning was very confusing, and stylistically challenging to get into. Once I started to get used to who she was and where she came from, I started to feel Nadia's emotions and experiences. It is overwhelming. She has been through so much, and feels so much pain from her experiences. Her writing about it is literary and at times feels objective and removed from her experinece, while at other times she is so very clearly reliving her experiences on the page. In this way, this memoir is exceptional and kind of genius. She gets to the root of her personal issues and those thrust on her by various societies. She notes how racism changes depending on where you are in the world, and how unsettled she has felt living her multiracial life in different countries with different sets of expectations.

At times she rambles on about a specific topic, and you can tell that those things have changed her, and that she is processing those changes. At times she brushes over different scenarios from her life, and you can tell that she is still experiencing pain, or that those things didn't impact her as much as you would expect.

So while at first, because of the abruptness with which she writes, I found it difficult to get into Owusu's story. But as the book continued, although I have very little in common with Owusu, I was able to empathize with her clear portrayal of a wide array of emotions in processing her life. I found this to be one of the better memoirs I've read recently, and this is perhaps because Owusu is not straightforward, but rather expects the reader to keep up despite their potential confusion. She speaks truths eloquently.

“We cannot think another’s thoughts, but we can feel their pain. Also, their pleasure, but we focus on pain because pain threatens us. We turn our eyes and block our ears and pretend it is not ours to feel. We are wired to do this, to avoid dangers.”

Nadia Owusu has struggled with her identity ever since her mother abandoned her when she was two years old. Nadia grew up all over the world, and when her father passed away at age 13, she was raised by her stepmother. Aftershocks is about Nadia’s journey through her life experiences, and how she comes to term with who she is. Aftershocks is a powerful memoir that covers important topics such as privilege, racism, religion, mental health and more. I truly loved how vulnerable Nadia was with sharing the trials she has had to face.

This is one of the most beautiful and moving books I have read and it was a great way to start off my reading in 2021. This memoir tells about the life and struggles and triumphs of a young woman who is trying to understand her identity as she lives in Rome, London, Dar-es-Salaam and Kampala. The book is non-linear and throbs between memories and feelings from Owusu's past. She explores race and identity, family and guilt, depression and hope. The writing is beautiful. The pace is interesting, following the tempo of the earthquakes after which the book is titled. An incredible debut!

Thank you for letting me read this book. I appreciated the fine writing and will recommend it to friends that I think will also value it. Unfortunately, I do not think most of my followers are in that category so I will not blog about it.

The first emotion this lyrical,heartfelt story evokes is familiar. A longing to be loved and cherished. Not put aside only to be displayed at another person’s whim. You ache for Nadia, her ground is always shifting. Her foundation tenuous at best, is shattered with the death of her father. It is here that Nadia starts to understand that her only salvation will come from her creation. It is the journey of self reliance that will fascinate the reader. It is her weaving of words that will hold you till the end.

I was really anticipating reading this book and it did not disappoint. I found the author's writing extremely well done. I felt the title was fantastic as it was truly fitting for the story. This is the heart-breaking and moving debut of Nadia Osuwu. In this memoir, she struggles with her sense of identity and belonging, being abandoned by her mother, her relationship with her father and stepmother, and her physical and emotional traumas. You really feel her struggle and debate within each chapter. There is so much packed into this book as she tells her story, the big and little impacts or aftershocks and how she navigates life through them.

To be completely honest, I almost stopped reading this book around the ⅓ mark. I just could not get into it. The book began more as a history book (which I personally love, having studied history in college, but was not in the mood for) and less a personal memoir. Luckily, I kept pushing through based on the reviews that I read and I am so happy that I did.

Nadia not only tells the story of her life, but connects it to history, both that she lived through and that came before her. Aftershocks is a raw and honest story about Nadia’s struggle with mental health, her search for who she is and where she belongs. She connects all her struggles to history and the struggles of her people. Nadia’s mother abandoned her, her father died when she was young, her relationship with her step-mother was tense. She spent her childhood moving around different countries - learning the languages, her place in the social, economic and racial hierarchy of where she lived and how these things shaped who she became.

This memoir gave a fascinating insight into the life of a multicultural, intelligent woman.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for my Advanced Reader Copy!

Weaving together her own personal history with that of her parents and the many countries where she was raised, Owusu, author of the chapbook So Devilish a Fire (2018), tells a story of fracture, loss, and mental illness. Owusu’s Armenian American mother left the family when Owusu was two, and her Ghanaian father, whom she idolized, died when she was 13, leaving her in the often-resentful care of a Tanzanian stepmother. As an adult, Owusu experienced a mental break following a failed relationship and her stepmother’s revelation that her father might have died of AIDS rather than cancer. Owusu’s dispatches from the trenches of what she calls madness are brutally metaphoric, elegantly honest, and familiar to readers with similar experiences. In alternating chapters, she explores the many seismic shifts of her childhood and early adulthood, living in African nations torn apart by civil wars and a family torn apart by parental death and abandonment. Aftershocks is a stunning, visceral book about the ways that our stories—of loss, of love, of borders—leave permanent marks on our bodies and minds.