The Baobab

A review -Stay with me

Welcome to August, may this month be filled with laughter, life lessons and hope. Last month I managed to read four books and one of my sisters Justine❤ encouraged me to try and read more than four books this month.

Author :Ayobami Adebayo
Overall rating: 4.7/5
Cover:4./5
Book title:5/5
Themes: barrenness, societal expectations death, marriage, reconciliation

You can listen to the review on my podcast

Summary: Stay with me is a story about Yejide and Akin and how their marriage is hanging by the last thread because Yejide failed to conceive. Akin’s family end up bringing a second wife in the home because according to the African culture every man needs to have a child who will carry the family’s name. Yejide tries by all means to bear a child and she even goes up the mountain, carries and breastfeeds a goat in the hope that she will bear a child. Akin is confident that his wife is not pregnant and when Yejide believes that she is pregnant she looks forward to holding her baby only to realize that it was a pseudopregnancy.

When Yejide’s falls pregnant her first child dies and when Sesan is a year old the parents discover that their son has sickle cell disease. Sadly the child dies and when Rotimi is born and the parents discover that her child has sickle cell disease too and the mother distances herself from her child in fear of losing her. Yejide leaves and never looks back. But when Akin’s father dies Yejide and Akin reconcile.

What I loved about the book
The author managed to write in a way that I could feel the character’s pain.
-The author incorporated flashbacks in a good way.
-It was a sad book, had suspense and I concluded that it had a happy ending.
– The author challenged some African cultural practices, when a couple fails to conceive the wife is always the one to blame.
– The author talked about sickle diseases (thanks to the Mawuli story, I have been doing my research too)

What I didn’t like about the book
-Akin hid the truth from Yejide.
-Yejide having sex with Dotun behind Akin’s back.

My favourite quote
“If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But even when it’s in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn’t mean it’s no longer love.”

Do I recommend this book? YES
Will I be reading a book written by this author? It’s a big YES

One last thing, you might need to have a box of tissues with you when you are reading this book🙈🙈

Be a ray of sunshine

My adult life has taught me that there are a lot of things that money cannot buy. The things that we need are expensive and you would never afford them if they were priced. These expensive commodities include love, happiness, a support system and gratitude. The world is going through a difficult time due to the impact of COVID-19 and sometimes one does not have the strength to go through the day.

Sometimes all you need is :
*someone who is there to offer a listening ear.
*someone who encourages you to soldier one.
*someone who calls or sends you a message and reminds you that they are special.
*Someone who will run an errand for you.
*someone who can call at any time of the day. *someone who reminds you of the good old days.

I hope that you are someone’s ray of sunshine during these difficult times❤😊.

A review-Life will humble you

Author: Audrey N Chirenje
Cover rating: 3/5
Overall rating:4/5
Themes: culture, love, religion, support system

Summary: Life will humble is a love story about Ronda and Ricardo affectionately known as Riko. Ronda’s life takes a 360° turn when she is kicked out of her matrimonial home because she fails to conceive. When Ronda is trying to get back on her feet she meets Riko who is TK’s manager at a meeting and she ends up falling for the guy even though she doesn’t say it out loud. Due to stress Ronda collapses and ends up being in a hospital bed with the doctor notifying her that she is pregnant.

Although Ronda is confused, scared and overwhelmed Riko commits to take care of her and he even calls her my rib. Ronda ends up falling in love with Riko. Riko was willing to take care of Ronda and raise Raphael like his own son. Ronda and Riko’s relationship is not rosy because they face a lot of challenges which include Ronda’s difficult pregnancy, Sean threatening to sue Riko and Nitrah exposing the family secrets. Despite all the challenges that the couple faces love conquers and God is the third man in the fire.

What I loved about the book:
*The author emphasized the power of prayer and having a relationship with our Maker.
It is not right for parents to choose life partners for their children.
*Counselling and therapy helps in strengthening relationships (Riko and Ronda).
*Postnatal depression
*The sacrifices we make for our loved ones.
*Everyone should have a strong support system.

My favourite character: Ropa

Favourite quote: My mess had been turned into a message that there was hope in any situation in life. Where your natural ability ends, that was when God stepped in and the supernatural began to manifest. All the glory was God’s because we had not done anything; he had masterminded the whole process. -Ronda
Will I be reading another book written by this author?
YES
Do I recommend this book?
YES
One last thing, if you are a fan of happy endings you should look for this book🤗

Thank you❤

A happy new week my lovely readers, I trust that you are well and taking care of yourselves and your loved ones.

Today’s post is an appreciation post to anyone who has been part of my blogging journey. This post is my 101 post on The Baobab. I am grateful to my blogging sister for introducing me to WordPress and AfroBloggers community. Maybe she had forgotten about it but her response made a huge impact on my blogging journey. Blogging and podcasting have kept me sane during the new normal.

Friday 23 July 2021💃💃💃💃 https://tcndangana.wordpress.com/2021/07/23/dont-give-up-keep-going/

Did you know that I am a podcaster too? You can listen to Here

I am grateful to all my friends and blogging sisters that I have made and I look forward to meeting new people. How I would love to meet a blogging brother and even a blogging boyfriend🙈🤣🤣. I have learnt how to review books, read books from different African authors through reading the books reviews, the importance of promoting your work and adding images to your blog posts, I learnt from the best! God willing I would love to reach five hundred posts. “It always seems impossible until it’s done – Nelson Mandela. My dear friend keeps hope alive and always believe in yourself.

I cannot say this enough but thank you for being part of my journey.

Don’t give up, Keep going!

The sun will rise again. Maybe it will not rise today or the day after but it will eventually rise. I know how it feels to be a spectator in your own life. To have nothing to look forward to and to be angry at yourself. Maybe you are angry at yourself because you failed to achieve your dreams or because the world hasn’t been kind to you.

People who are close to you might tell you that you are ungrateful but all you wanted was more. I know how it feels to go about the day with a heavy heart and cry yourself to sleep at night.

I am not here to tell you that you are ungrateful or that you are an attention seeker. All I want to say is that I have walked that road before and I will not judge you but, I understand.

Reading novels, my diary, listening to old school music, yoga and watching Spongebob has been helpful. I hope you will find something that will help you go through the day.

I pray that you find healing and that you will be kind to yourself. Remember that it is okay to have good and bad days. It’s okay not to be okay but it’s not okay to bottle your pain inside.

Be kind to yourself and take care of the person you see when you look in the mirror❤.

Fighting fires and saving lives

Happy new week my lovely readers, I hope you are well and taking care of yourselves. Sending my love and prayers to anyone going through a difficult time.

When I saw a post that Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 will be premiering their new seasons on the 30th of September I was all smiles. I am not a fan of television series but I will never trade Meredith’s smile and Vic Hughes and Montgomery’s friendship for anything.

Station 19 follows the lives of firefighters who live in Seattle and work for the Station 19 fire house. Whereas Grey’s Anatomy is a medical series about medical doctors who live in Seattle and work at Grey’s Sloan Memorial Hospital.

In Station 19 the firefighters had to attend assist many victims but they were in fear on contracting the virus. Tours around the firehouse were banned and the firefighters could not visit their loved ones.The pandemic has made the firefighters feel powerless and lonely.

Grey’s Anatomy always remind me that the world has been hit and affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The characters in these series wear masks and their stories are in the present and address different issues that have been brought about by the global pandemic. In Grey’s Anatomy, the hospital had to send some patients away and the admitted patients could not see their relatives who were not feeling well. The hospital staff could not spend time with their loved ones and Meredith and Koracick tested positive to COVID-19 whereas Chief Miranda Bailey lost her mother.

These two series made me appreciate the role of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you happen to know a frontline worker, please tell them that you appreciate them.

A book review-The secret lives of Baba Segi’s wives

Author: Lola Shoneyin
Cover rating: 3/5
0verall rating:4.8/5

Themes: polygamy, secrets, security, family, impotence, societal expectations

Summary
The book is a hilarious piece and it tells the story of Baba Segi and his four wives. The author introduces the four wives and learn or understand how they ended up being in Baba Segi’s household. The reasons include societal expectations, poverty, wanted to be free and a break from their parent’s household. There are some secrets that women are willing to die without telling anyone.

What I loved about the book
*The author managed to write about the challenges that women go through if they are suspected to be infertile.
* Sometimes women are forced to give up on their dreams because of societal expectations(Iya Segi)
*Women bring each other down instead of supporting one another. Iya Segi didn’t want the other wives to be taught how to read by Bonalhe.
*Hatred can make you lose so much, Iya Segi lost Segi due to poisoning when she thought that she had poisoned Bonalhe.

A character I could resonate with:Bonalhe

My favourite character
Iya Femi

My favourite quotes

Don’t think I can’t see the challenges ahead of me. People will say I am
a secondhand woman. Men will hurt and ridicule me but I won’t let them
hold me back. I will remain in the land of the living. I am back now and the
world is spread before me like an egg cracked open.-Bolanle

Although the prospect of freedom excited me, the thought of escaping made my heart
pound.- Iya Femi

Will I be reading another book written by this author? YES

Do I recommend this book? YES

You can also listen to the episode on my podcast Here

If anything costs your mental health then it’s too expensive. Have a great weekend😊

The lessons that I have learnt from blogging

I enjoy blogging and maybe I should have created my blog a long time ago. The AfroBloggers winter blogging challenge was a great learning opportunity for me. There I was a time I was about to give up but every morning I woke up to notifications that some bloggers had already published their blog post for the day. These notifications kept me going and I am forever grateful. I hope you will find some of the lessons I will be sharing below to be helpful🤗.

BE CONSISTENT
My blogging experience or journey has taught me that one should be consistent in publishing posts on their blog. The breaks are okay but you don’t want your readers to end up forgetting about you.

TELL YOUR STORY
Writing about your personal experience can also help someone who is going through a similar situation. The reader ends up realising that they are not alone and they can draw lessons from the writer’s experience.

HAVE FUN
It is so easy to get lost in the likes and comments from your readers but what matters at the end of the day is doing something that you love.

PROMOTE YOUR WORK
Before the WinterABC2021 I rarely posted my work on Twitter because I believe that some of my posts were not good enough. Uncle B advised the bloggers to create a thread on Twitter for their blog posts and although I was against the idea I did it anywhere. I am glad that I created the thread for the WinterABC2021 and from now onwards I will be promoting my work on Twitter and my WhatsApp statuses.

MAKE NEW FRIENDS
I have friends from different countries and it always warms my heart when we talk about some practices that are common in our home countries.

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A SILLY IDEA
Even when you are doubting your idea one of your readers can end up falling in love with an idea.

NEVER QUIT
There is no shame in trying something new because even if you fail you are a better person and you learn from your mistakes.

What are some of the lessons that you have learnt from blogging?

Our special friends

Guess who is back! I decided to practice what I preach and get the much-needed rest since I was advocating for self-care during the #WinterABC2021. I am well rested and ready to conquer the world😊.

We have great friends that we have never met but their voices do brighten our day. Their craft had become a part of our lives and they always give us something to look forward to.

Radio personalities

They forced their ways in our homes and they have kept us entertained when we are stuck in traffic, during the school run and even on a lazy day. The radio personalities do keep us informed and entertained and thanks to technology the listeners can communicate with the radio personalities via the station’s WhatsApp mobile number. My contact list has the WhatsApp contact numbers for some of my favourite radio stations.

Authors

I am a fan of African literature and autobiographies, and I have travelled to different countries through reading various books. The authors do take us on an emotional journey and sometimes the readers sympathise or empathize with the characters. The authors have got the power to raise awareness on different issues and sometimes the readers end up falling in love with the characters in the book they have been reading. I must confess, I fell in love with Qhawe from the Hlomu series written by Dudu Busani-Dube.

Musicians

A family gathering in Zimbabwe would be incomplete if the music playlist does not include songs from the legends such as Oliver Mtukudzi, Simon Chimbetu, Leonard Zhakata, The Bundu boys, Chiwoniso Maraire … should I go on? The music from these legends has managed to cut across all generations and it is still relevant in the 21st century. The music from these legends has been there for me during the good and the bad times. Listening to the songs from some of my favourite Zimbabwean music legends feels like wrapping a warm blanket around your body on a cold winter night.

A book review -Mess

Happy new month my readers, I wish you nothing but good health, achievements and happiness.

Author: Dudu Busani-Dube
Cover rating:4/5
Overall rating:4.9/5

Themes: Mental health, family, support system, death, trauma, suicide, therapy

Summary: Mess is the fifth book of the Hlomu series. I cried myself to sleep when I finished reading the book because my heart was sore and I could not believe that Mqoqi had died. The Mess afforded me a chance to get to know Mqoqiwokuhle better and who he was on his own with the Zulu brothers title. A lot of secrets from the past also came back to haunt the brothers and these include the heist, Amanda and the Bhungane brothers.

What I loved about the book
*The author managed to talk about mental health issues.
*Men are also victims of domestic violence.
*It is okay for someone to express their emotions or feelings.
*Toxic relationships can kill someone slowly.
*Money cannot buy happiness.
*Childhood traumas play a part in our adult life and choices.

My favourite characters: Mqoqi, Lahliwe

My favourite quotes
“I am tired of being decent and good in the hope that this life will be good to me one day and give me my big break. I hate it! I hate people like you, Lale, and….”– Ntuthuko

You can listen to the review on my podcast HERE

Will I be reading another book written by this author? YES
Do I recommend this book?
I do recommend the whole series🙂😉