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Aftershocks
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
39 posts | 27 read | 39 to read
This poetic, genre-bending workblending memoir with cultural historyfrom Whiting Award winner Nadia Owusu grapples with the fault lines of identity, the meaning of home, black womanhood, and the ripple effects, both personal and generational, of emotional trauma. Nadia Owusu grew up all over the worldfrom Rome and London to Dar-es-Salaam and Kampala. When her mother abandoned her when she was two years old, the rejection caused Nadia to be confused about her identity. Even after her father died when she was thirteen and she was raised by her stepmother, she was unable to come to terms with who she was since she still felt motherless and alone. When Nadia went to university in America when she was eighteen she still felt as if she had so many competing personas that she couldnt keep track of them all without cracking under the pressure of trying to hold herself together. A powerful coming-of-age story that explores timely and universal themes of identity, Aftershocks follows Nadias life as she hauls herself out of the wreckage and begins to understand that the only ground firm enough to count on is the one she writes into existence.
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TracyReadsBooks
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

Compelling, devastating, gloriously written memoir that explores issues of abandonment, identity, family, mental health and so much more. This is not an easy read but it is a powerful examination of growing up not knowing quite where you belong in a fractured family where you have no one to rely on but yourself—only to discover that at your worst, you can‘t be relied on. Occasionally repetitive, this book is nonetheless an excellent read.

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TracyReadsBooks
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Distracted myself with a new book this morning…

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Suet624
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

My librarian handed this memoir to me saying I would appreciate it. She wasn‘t wrong. Owusu covers so much-her mother‘s desertion, her beloved father‘s death when she was a teenager, the cultural history of the many countries she lived in as the daughter of a UN worker, her stepmother‘s abandonment, blending into cultures, racism, about the earthquakes we experience as part of trauma. While this many not sound cheery, it sure was captivating.

Graywacke Sounds amazing 3y
47 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Booksandtea23
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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UnabridgedPod
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

I seldom regret choosing to listen to an audiobook, particularly when it's as good as the audio of Nadia Osuwu's Aftershocks—narrated by the author—is. My regrets came, however, because this story is so powerful and so beautiful that I wanted to savor the writing in the way I only can in print. ⬇

UnabridgedPod I read this memoir with @readwithtoni on IG because she had been singing its praises. Toni first listened and then read in print, and I think that may (eventually) be my journey, too.

I don't have a detailed review for this one. I'll just urge you to read it, in what ever format you want, and then be ready to want to read it again immediately.
3y
38 likes1 comment
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emmaturi
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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1. New Zealand, Paris and Western Isles
2. Relaxing with a book
3. It was Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu
4. My family are doing ok

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

Eggs Lovely 😊 3y
18 likes1 comment
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emmaturi
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this nonfiction book, about the author's life. Nadia lived all over the world, she has had a lot to cope with, her mother abandoned her when she was two years old and later her father died. It was moving memoir and it has had a lot of cultural history about the many countries she lived in.

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alisiakae
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

This is a beautifully written memoir by the daughter of a Ghanaian UN worker aid worker. Owusu was abandoned by her Armenian-American mother when she was 3, and lost her father to illness at 13. I loved her thought processes in connecting her life stories to earthquake terminology and events. It gave her memoir another level that really stands out.

#booked2021 #relatedto911 because of 1 chap about her experience very near the towers that day

BarbaraTheBibliophage This one is definitely on my radar. Glad to know you liked it! 3y
Cinfhen This was really good @BarbaraTheBibliophage 😃 3y
Zoes_Human This was incredible! 3y
77 likes3 comments
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MelKelsey
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Mehso-so

Book 82

I listened to Aftershocks, a memoir about racial identity. I better appreciate the role identity, including accent, plays in, not only the connections you form with others, but also in the relationships they make with you. The memoir feels scattered, as it's not written chronologically. Proselike, she uses metaphorical earthquake language to write her challenges. Overall three stars, though 2.5 the majority of the time.

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Sydneypaige
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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This memoir asks for witnesses, of her life and pain and meaning making. Using the metaphor of earthquakes, she shares the literal and figurative ways life shakes underneath our feet.

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DanaManiac
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Mehso-so

3 ⭐️

I don't read many memoirs and wasn't sure what to expect from this. For me, it fell flat. I was very intrigued in the beginning of the book as she discussed and explored what it meant to be her mother's daughter. At one point, I had the feeling one gets when in the company of an acquaintance who is oversharing and really should go see a therapist. At another point, stories haunted me at bedtime. It felt like it should have been two books.

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Come-read-with-me
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

A book that celebrates the search for belonging and self as well as family and displacement. The use of an earthquake as a metaphor for the challenges faced by the author worked well and provided a great framework for the events of her life. I‘m looking forward to reading more by this talented author. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #AxeTheStacksApril

Megabooks Great review! Totally agree! 4y
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Suelizbeth
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

Written in a style meant to resemble pre-shocks, earthquakes, and aftershocks, this memoir keeps us off balance until the end. When you are uncertain of your own identity and your only God is human, the ground is going to be unstable. Creating her own identity is Nadia Owusu‘s saving grace. A powerful read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Suet624 This is such a great review of this book. You said what I wanted to say but didn‘t. 🥴 3y
Suelizbeth @Suet624 awww…thanks. ☺️📚❤️ 3y
46 likes2 comments
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amma-keep-reading
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
Pickpick

Applause... All the applause.

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Floresj
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

Interesting telling of a life story spanning countries and traumas. Instead of a chronological sequence of her life, Owusu tells the story of her life in themes/chapters of her life-which I really enjoyed. I also thought her description of how different blacks are treated in a variety of countries and living in a variety of countries in an UN enclave fascinating. Her processing of her abandonment issues was vulnerable and unapologetic. Great read.

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Lauren890
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I listened to this on audio and it was excellent in that format. She deals with complex issues surrounding her childhood on through her twenties. She is honest about her privilege as a diplomat‘s daughter but is also honest about the rough situations she has faced. A time or two felt like TMI for me, but I reminded myself it‘s her memoir not mine! Beautifully written, it gave me a lot to think about.

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Chelsea.Poole
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

Reading memoirs just seems right to me at this point in my life; to get inside the mind of another and see life through their perspective is a bit of magic. Aftershocks reinforced this. I loved the #audiobook narrated by the author. I was taken by surprise at how well the nonlinear layout worked for me. Usually it feels repetitive, but here it reinforced feelings and experiences for greater impact. Owusu had an incredibly diverse upbringing.

Lauren890 I‘m listening to this on audio right now and it‘s so good! 4y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Sounds great! 4y
103 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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FashionableObserver
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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“My parents are a representation of what is possible when love wins and freedom rings and the pendulum swings toward justice.”
I wonder if that‘s what we are in our son‘s eyes. 2020 introduced him to deeper thinking about Race. The lesson came much earlier than we anticipated or would have liked, but it was necessary nonetheless. I wonder if he sees our family as a kind of triumph, or as just a regular family. Can it be both? I kind of hope so...

AmyG It absolutely can be both! 🙌🏻 4y
SamAnne Beautiful photo. 4y
Lauram Beautiful family 💜 4y
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KathyWheeler I hope he sees you as both. He probably does. ❤️ 4y
Come-read-with-me This picture brings me joy! What a beautiful family! 4y
umbrellagirl Yes!! 4y
FashionableObserver @Come-read-with-me Thank you! 4y
CarolynM What a lovely photo❤️ 4y
Tera66 Beautiful family, your kiddo is so handsome! 4y
FashionableObserver @Tera66 Thanks! He was making what he calls his “model face”. 🙄😂 4y
Tera66 @FashionableObserver 😂 That's awesome! 4y
FashionableObserver @Tera66 He is a mess! 🤣 He truly brings joy! 🥰 4y
62 likes1 stack add15 comments
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Copwithabook
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
Pickpick

I have Aftershocks four stars on Goodreads. I was impressed with how well she crafted her story, particularly with using earthquake terminology as metaphor to structure the book. And while I do not have a wide range of ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity in my own background as Owusu does(or the best private and international education), I can certainly relate to her need to understand her parents and her relation to them as a young adult.

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FashionableObserver
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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“God of fire help me, I begged, or if you cannot help me, then show me how to set my world ablaze.” I know this picture is the complete opposite of fire, but there‘s something about it—the desolate vibe, maybe—that seems to fit. This book is amazing, you guys.

Suet624 A fantastic book indeed! 3y
FashionableObserver @sue624, I am putting this one in line for a re-read in 2022! 3y
41 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BookishMarginalia
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Stumbled upon this article and pilaf recipe from Aftershock author Nadia Owusu in the new Healthyish issue of #BonAppetit. A pleasant bookish surprise!

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/my-mothers-pilaf

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Twocougs
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

WOW

Megabooks Right?!? 4y
32 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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LatrelWhite
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🎧 Beautifully written.

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Megabooks
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

Nadia‘s stepmother drops a bombshell about her dead dad in this non-linear memoir that explores intergenerational trauma and healing. Her Armenian-American mother left when she was 3, and she was raised by her Ghanaian dad and stepmother until her dad‘s death when she was 13. She examines these events, her unusual upbringing across Europe and Africa while her father and stepmother worked for the UN, and her tumultuous adulthood in NYC. 4.5⭐️ #botm

Megabooks @Cinfhen I alternated this with the #audiobook from Libby, and it was really good! #memoirgals! 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Sounds good! 4y
Megabooks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I‘d definitely recommend. I hope you‘re doing okay Misty. I‘ve been praying for you to stay healthy. 4y
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Cinfhen I read the #ARC awhile back/ I thought it was very powerful 🥰we are definitely #MemoirGals 👯‍♀️ 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Megabooks thank you 🙏🏻 I‘m going to get my vaccine today and I‘m really nervous 😬 thank you for the prayers 🙏🏻 I need them. 7 coworkers have it and one is intubated 😢 4y
Megabooks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks so glad you got your vaccine. I hope you are feeling okay. It is terrible what is happening to our brave healthcare workers. I pray that all your coworkers recover and that people start taking precautions more seriously. Sending love as always! 💜💜 4y
8little_paws I think this is going to be my birthday add on in April! 4y
Megabooks @8little_paws I think you‘d enjoy this one. 👍🏻 4y
124 likes4 stack adds8 comments
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Megabooks
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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I may have created a brief account just to order this single book. 🤷🏻‍♀️ what are ya gonna do? At least I paid the same. But I forgot to refer myself. #amateurmove lololol @Reviewsbylola #botm

Crazeedi "Its a disease!" And there's no cure!??? 4y
Megabooks @Crazeedi truth!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 4y
Reviewsbylola 😂😂 glad I‘m not alone. 4y
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Megabooks @Reviewsbylola I think we enable each other pretty well! 4y
Reviewsbylola 100%!!! 4y
8little_paws I'm really interested in this one too but i think I'm going to hold off for now since I'm already getting a monthly pick and the boty freebie 4y
Megabooks @8little_paws that‘s probably a good idea. I‘m running out of space and probably should‘ve done the same thing. 4y
92 likes7 comments
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quirkyreader
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

Get this one as soon as it comes out. Here is the link to my goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3635089982

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mrsthilkey
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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I was really hoping Aftershocks would be a main pick this month, but I've always enjoyed Jane Harper, so here I am with two picks and my freebie!

I can't wait to hear what you all think about these January books, they all sound so interesting! 🤓🎉

#botm

Twainy I enjoyed The Guest List, a little predictable but a fun read. 😁 4y
mrsthilkey @Twainy I haven't read a thriller in a long time bc I find them irritating, but since this was the best one of the year I am looking forward to it! (I don't like Backman's writing and I already have the other three favorites) 4y
24 likes2 comments
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swishandflick
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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I posted two of these #BOTM add-ons previously, but reposting to include some additional January add-ons that are also confirmed! (The 5 suspected main picks are in a separate post)

Cinfhen I read the ARC for Aftershocks it was good and I‘ve heard great things about 4y
Cinfhen The NKJemisin has been on sale for Kindle and Apple Books for weeks at $4.99 (edited) 4y
Megabooks Why do the ads ins always look better?? Definitely getting Black Buck! This may be a two account month! 4y
74 likes1 stack add4 comments
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quirkyreader
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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#bookmail. Another surprise and a goodreads giveaway. Thank you @SimonSchuster

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Well-ReadNeck
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

Ooooh! Award winning memoir coming January! #ARC #Edelweiss

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Cinfhen
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Pickpick

#ARC #NetGalley

A powerful new voice for this generation. Told in nonlinear order, Nadia retraces pivotal moments in her upbringing that leave her confused, unmoored, longing.She tackles the heavy topics of colonialism, privilege, pride, mental illness, trauma and self acceptance.
The writing is gorgeous, poetic although at times the content felt repetitive. This book is timely& will appeal to many readers.
BONUS #ReadingEurope2020 #Armenia

TrishB Great review 👍🏻 4y
BarbaraBB Ooh sounds good. Great review 4y
Cinfhen Thanks @TrishB @BarbaraBB I left a longer more detailed review on GR / it‘s hard to express a book in 451 characters 😜 4y
Librarybelle Great review! 4y
Centique Beautiful review - unmoored sounds gorgeous #stacked 4y
78 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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Cinfhen
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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Is this true @TrishB @squirrelbrain @jenniferw88 @RachelO “White English people could say they were English, but black and brown people called themselves British, even if their parents and their parents‘ parents were born and raised in England.”

julesG That's what I was told too, by a British friend with African roots. David Olusoga said so too in the accompanying BBC documentary to his book 4y
rockpools Quite probably. English can have some funny (not funny) connotations, and the concept of English identity is a bit tricky. I‘d only describe myself as English if I was in Wales/Scotland/NI, British feels more all-encompassing (and even then I‘d be more likely to say where I was from). My Welsh friends of all ethnicities are very definitely, no-qualms Welsh! Here‘s a thing: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-44306737 4y
TrishB Yes I‘d say it was probably true. English has racist, stereotypical connotations to it, unfortunately. Using it can imply all sorts of meanings. I won‘t let the racists win though and I can flit between being English/British and try and show it‘s a stereotype. I feel saddened that a right wing ideology has stolen my English identity and made it a racist description and even more saddened that people who are English, no matter their colour can‘t 4y
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TrishB Describe themselves as English. It means you come from England. It‘s a sad world. 4y
rockpools @TrishB Sorry to make you sad at this time of day Trish! Have a good weekend 😘 4y
hannah-leeloo I'm from the UK and I have no idea about this. 4y
jenniferw88 I describe myself as 'British' - I don't think I've ever called myself 'English'. It's British on my passport and when I've filled in job applications. 4y
TrishB @RachelO 😘😘 you too Rachel. It‘s a mad world at the moment. 4y
Caroline2 Hmmm, I think it depends on the context. I normally describe myself as British by default to be honest. I find it sad that the Welsh and Scottish are proud to say that but if you say English then it becomes a political statement?? But I‘m white so I don‘t feel I can comment on how black people feel. 4y
TrishB @Caroline2 very true 👍🏻 4y
BarbaraBB Wow. I‘ve never realized all said above. I have to ask my black friend who moved to England in the nineties. 4y
Cinfhen This is all so fascinating to me. It‘s really a world gone mad with labels & identities and national recognition @TrishB @Caroline2 @jenniferw88 @hannah-leeloo @RachelO @julesG 4y
Cinfhen It‘s sad @BarbaraBB isn‘t it?!? 4y
hannah-leeloo @Cinfhen so true, I don't know why labels have been made so important. It's sad as it makes everyone feel they have to be sorted into belonging 4y
68 likes14 comments
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Cinfhen
Aftershocks: A Memoir | Nadia Owusu
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“I write toward truth, but my memory is prone to bouts of imagination.” How true of memoirs. My telling of truth is only my telling/ another person can experience the same event but recall it‘s memory in another version of the truth. “I can only tell my version.” #ARC #NetGalley