This country is addicting. And heartbreaking. Strolling along the beach between River Two and Tokeh is addicting…if you like sand the colour and feel of cornstarch between your toes. And if,looking back, your footprints are the only ones for a mile. Occasionally a young boy will approach, adding his story to yours. “Who you support?” […]
Mende
Return to Sierra Leone Part 2…let there be (solar) light
The welcome in Sumbuya began at Salima, at the eastern section of the village. Singing school children, drums, dancers. Everyone paraded through the village to the official welcome at the school hall. The highlight was the G’boi, a raffia covered bush devil. He danced in the street and on the hall stage, at one point […]
When life imitates art….Part 1
This is the first of a three part post on my recent trip to Sierra Leone. This story, about a car breakdown, is eerily similar to a scene in My Heart is Not My Own. I’ve returned to Sierra Leone. Cartons of solar lights for girls and their teachers. Reading kits for primary to middle […]
Salone 2014: on returning to Sierra Leone
The novel is out, the reviews are wonderful and I’m moving on to other projects, writing and otherwise. I’ve been meaning to write about the notes I’ve been receiving from readers of My Heart is Not My Own. And I will–next time. The comments, from book club participants and readers from across the country, are […]
A few days among the Mende in Sierra Leone
This is a “live” post from Sumbuya, Sierra Leone. I ask your forgiveness for spelling or grammatical errors—I’m in an NGO office, the lights are blinking and, well—this is going to be one draft only. I’m here to tidy up loose ends. Tomorrow I’ll attend the opening of the school that our family and friends […]
Back to the beginning….
Thanks to my agent, Drea Cohane, My Heart Is Not My Own is finally getting into the hands of acquiring editors. And so my thoughts return to the beginning…. In 2000, during the civil war in Sierra Leone, I visited a refugee camp in Freetown. I remember several images from that trip, but one in […]