The Center for Fiction Presents Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond on My Parents' Marriage with Abi Ishola-Ayodeji

Wednesday, 7:00 pm EDT July 10, 2024

The Center for Fiction
& Livestreamed

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Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, acclaimed author of Blue and Powder Necklace, joins The Center for Fiction to discuss her latest novel My Parents’ Marriage. The novel follows Kokui, a young Ghanaian woman determined to make sure her marriage will not mimic the turbulence of her parents’ relationship. However, when Kokui and her husband move to America, she finds herself in the same patterns. After the death of her father, Kokui returns to her childhood home in Ghana and realizes she must confront the ghost of her parent’s marriage to find healing. Brew-Hammond’s tender and bittersweet novel is a moving examination of identity, patriarchy, and culture. Abi Ishola-Ayodeji (Patience Is a Subtle Thief), Emmy award-winning author and journalist will join Brew-Hammond for a profound discussion of the novel and its themes of community and generational trauma. After the conversation, Brew-Hammond will sign books.

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In Conversation

  • Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond Large

    Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

    Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

    Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond is the author of the children’s picture book Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky, illustrated by Caldecott Honor Artist Daniel Minter; and the young adult novel Powder Necklace. Her short fiction for adults has been included in the anthologies Accra Noir, Africa39, New Daughters of Africa, Everyday People, and Woman’s Work. Learn more at nanabrewhammond.com.


    Photo Credit: Essie Brew-Hammond

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    Abi Ishola-Ayodeji

    Abi Ishola-Ayodeji

    Abi Ishola-Ayodeji is an Emmy award-winning producer and storyteller. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, Patience Is a Subtle Thief, was named one of BuzzFeed’s best books of May 2022 and received a coveted Kirkus starred review.

    As a journalist, Abi has showcased her talent across a diverse range of platforms, including ELLE.com, PBS, Ebony.com, CUNY TV, and more. Her 18-year-long career has seen her cover extraordinary people, communities, and events from New York City to Paris and from Nigeria to Ghana.

    In 2017, Essence magazine named her among its Woke 100 Women for launching Beyond Classically Beautiful, an acclaimed photo story and media platform celebrating women of color who defy traditional beauty standards.

    After years of struggling to write a complete novel, she adopted a winning plan that helped her finish her manuscript seamlessly. She landed a deal with HarperCollins upon her first submission to a publisher.

    As Ishola-Ayodeji continues to work on her second novel, she is also coaching aspiring authors on how to write and finish the novel of their dreams via workshops, YouTube.com/abiishola, and digital products available on www.aishola.com.

Featured Book

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    My Parent's Marriage

    By Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

    Published by HarperCollins

    PURCHASE

    Determined to avoid the pain and instability of her parents’ turbulent, confusing marriage, Kokui marries a man far different from her loving, philandering, self-made father—and tries to be a different kind of wife from her mother.

    But when Kokui and her husband leave Ghana to make a new life for themselves in America, she finds history repeating itself. Her marriage failing, she is called home to Ghana when her father dies. Back in her childhood home, which feels both familiar and discomforting, she comes to realize that to exorcize the ghosts of her parents’ marriage she must confront them to enable her healing.

    Tender and illuminating, warm and bittersweet My Parents’ Marriage is a compelling story of family, community, class, and self-identity from an author with deep empathy and a generous heart

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