An Unusual Grief

LONGLISTED FOR THE REPUBLIC OF CONSCIOUSNESS PRIZE 2023AND THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2023

How do you get to know your daughter when she is dead?

This is the question that haunts Mojisola as she grapples withthe sudden loss of her daughter, Yinka, and the unresolved fractures in theirrelationship. Mojisola is forced to confront the dysfunctions of her life thathave led her to this point, evading her errant husband and mourning theirestranged daughter alone.

Mojisola’s grief takes her from Cape Town to Johannesburg whereshe holes up in Yinka’s apartment, unearthing the life that she had built forherself there. Walking a mile in Yinka’s shoes, Mojisola slips into aclandestine underworld, where she learns to break free from the bondage of the labels,wife and mother.

In this new world of feline companionship, reignited talentsand unlikely friendships, including with Yinka’s acerbic landlady Zelda,Mojisola’s understanding of life, and her place within it, is built anew.

A bold and unflinching tale of one woman’s unconventionalapproach to life and loss.