Exploring Female Authors

Sundays are my downtime days, where I take the time to reflect, relax and breathe deeply. Today I'll be cuddling up with some books. I'd actually stopped reading for a long time, until life happened and I remembered the power of books.

Since it is International Woman’s Day today, I’ve decided to share the inspiration behind why I started reading again. I hope it will inspire you to pick up a book if you haven’t done so in a while.

Image captured by Simba @Damien Savant Studios

Book in question: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Why I picked this book

In the months leading up to January 2016 I found myself on an involuntary journey back to self, my twenties had tossed and turned me back and forth from zero to hero and back again. I’d hit rock bottom, with literally nothing to show for an entire decade of my ever so busy life. No money, no shelter, no direction. It’s as if I was fresh out of high school again only this time gravely exhausted and bleak about the future I had failed to prepare for. At the time this seemed devastating but as the days rolled over in my newly found nothingness, the only plausible options were to keep running towards nowhere or stop and acknowledge that the mess I had created was not a death sentence.

Journey back to self

This journey back to self lead me to a place where my significance as a woman, specifically an African woman was in question. Why am I a woman? What’s my role in my family? What’s my role as an African woman in my generation? Tough questions to answer, but I believe that the soul launches questions when the ground is ripe for their pursuit. I started to consciously seek out more understanding and knowledge about 'Afro' women in different parts of the world. I learned about their struggles, successes and failures; what makes them smile and keeps them up at night. Listening to podcasts, reading articles and speaking to African women from all works of life, I was inspired to rise from the ashes. The more I read and listened, the more I remembered who and what it means to be cut from my skin. I am an African woman, that is to say, I am strong and resilient, graceful and wise; and often grossly under celebrated.

Image captured by Simba @Damien Savant Studios

One such woman that stood out for me is Lorraine Hansberry. The more I read about her and her work, the closer I wanted to become to it, so I decided that my first reconnection with the world of literature would be her award winning Broadway play “A Raisin in the Sun”.

What will be your reason for picking up a new book this week?

HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY!