Book Review| Daughters Who Walk This Path

Last month, I went to the bookshop at Terra Kulutre gallery and I bought six books. This is the first book I read from the lot. Daughters Who Walk This Path tells the story of Morayo, a young woman with a burden to bear that life seemed to fall apart for her in her teens.  She was forced to keep a secret imposed upon her by her older cousin who was living in her house at the time. When it was obvious that her younger sister may get hurt, she had to reveal the secret and damn all the consequences. Her cousin was bundled out of the house and the issue was never addressed even when she almost committed suicide.

Her saving grace was her close relationship with her Aunt, Aunty Morenike who had a similar experience when she was young and truly understood Morayo’s feelings. Morayo journeys to womanhood with her past hanging over her head. She makes a couple of bad decisions with men while trying to heal. She forms some lasting relationships and finally finds love in the end though she also lost heavily afterwards. The last few pages of this book made me cry wailing tears.

The novel deals with many topics including disjointed mother-daughter relationships, unconditional love, stereotype, discrimination, the clash of tribal traditions, cultural differences, politics, dignity, self-respect, sexual abuse, and manipulation.

What I Liked
I enjoyed that the novel is heavily concerned with female characters and intense familial bonds between them. The special bond between Morayo and her Aunt, would make you jealous and wish you had an Aunt you were that close to. Also, Morayo’s care and love for her younger sister, Eniayo was admirable.
The main characters were well developed, believable and intriguing which made me visualize the scenes as I read the book. I liked how Yejide told the story, it was moving, captivating and compelling and it had intense emotions and relatable experiences. I also really think the cover is attractive.

What I Didn’t Like
I felt like the desire to tell so many issues about Nigeria got distracting. I got lost at some point and almost felt like I was watching a Nollywood movie with unconnected stories.

Daughters Who Walk This Part paints the picture of women anywhere who deal with child abuse and the stigma that comes with it both within the family and outside. It’s sad that victims are ignored or held accountable for something they could have not known better as children. It shows how women pull through no matter what comes their way.

I encourage every mother, son, daughter, father, brother, sister, girl, and boy to read this. It is a book for everyone above the age of 15. I hope this story enlightens men who still don’t understand that a woman is not to blame when she is molested. I also hope this story makes women understand that abuse is not their fault.

Have a great weekend.

Mariam Shittu