After surviving end-stage renal disease and receiving two transplants, this author pivoted from scholarship to creative writing. Born and raised in Nigeria, their trans-Atlantic work deeply explores place, not as a mere backdrop, but as a character in itself. The act of writing is described as a meditative process, a transcendent realm where the everyday world fades. This immersion in creation, alongside a love for solitary moments in nature, reflects a profound sense of contentment and self-sufficiency.
Growing up in Nigeria during its independence movement, Elaine Neil Orr navigated her dual identity as both American and Nigerian. In her memoir, she reflects on her childhood shaped by her parents' work as medical missionaries and the deep connections she formed to her homeland. The narrative explores the challenges and emotional toll of leaving Africa to attend high school in the United States, revealing the complexities of belonging and the sacrifices inherent in her transition.
From the critically acclaimed writer of A Different Sun, a Southern coming-of-age novel that sets three very different young people against the tumultuous years of the American civil rights movement... Tacker Hart left his home in North Carolina as a local high school football hero, but returns in disgrace after being fired from a prestigious architectural assignment in West Africa. Yet the culture and people he grew to admire have left their mark on him. Adrift, he manages his father's grocery store and becomes reacquainted with a girl he barely knew growing up. Kate Monroe's parents have died, leaving her the family home and the right connections in her Southern town. But a trove of disturbing letters sends her searching for the truth behind the comfortable life she's been bequeathed. On the same morning but at different moments, Tacker and Kate encounter a young African-American, Gaines Townson, and their stories converge with his. As Winston-Salem is pulled into the tumultuous 1960s, these three Americans find themselves at the center of the civil rights struggle, coming to terms with the legacies of their pasts as they search for an ennobling future.
Emma, the determined daughter of a wealthy slave owner, faces a starkly different life among the Yoruba people with her much older husband, Henry. Their relationship is filled with love, tragedy, and heartbreak. A writing box gifted by Henry becomes Emma’s confidant and link to her past as she navigates her new world.