![]() This is no ordinary jeremiad or jejune recounting of events instead, it is an evocation of a feeling, of what it feels like to be constantly in search of a place to call home, constantly in search of peace amid trauma. The book becomes a form of attempted self-care, repair through revelation. We witness, in sections both tantalizing and tragic, Owusu’s struggles with mental illness. And, of course, there are actual earthquakes in the book, the first of which, in a remarkable case of life being stranger than fiction. Aftershocks.spares little in the way of capturing the disorienting atmosphere of an earthquake: the fear of the earth’s sudden movement, the terror of being in the midst of a tragedy, the trauma that follows and lingers. you will journey across countries, hear numerous languages, and feel how deep a loss can go. Unable to find stable ground, Owusu centers her narrative on her body, which she brilliantly reclaims in these sections. While Owusu displays a reverence for her background, she also addresses some potentially harmful cultural practices. ![]() By relating the events of her upbringing, she is also telling the story of her father and the history of the countries that had become home to her. ![]() It takes a skillful hand to weave complex concepts so seamlessly into a narrative, and Owusu executes this masterfully. Owusu’s narrative deftly demonstrates a keen sense of others’ emotional states. For a young woman whose foundations were shaken several times in her life - including numerous moves to locales with literal tectonic rumblings along with the more metaphorical tremors of civil unrest - approach effectively portrays the inner angst of individuals who have grown up amid trauma and have learned to be vigilant, to read the slightest shifts as foreboding.
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