As I Look Homeward

War-torn post-colonial Nigeria in the 1960s is vividly portrayed in this powerful memoir by a woman who experienced it first hand. Exotic customs and beliefs, and not least the brutish attitudes Nigerian females of Elizabeth Wine's generation suffered, are described in intimate detail in these pages. As a young girl, she was pushed from pillar to post, as her beloved father, her mother, and her doting grandmother alternated in terms of who looked after her - without the child herself having any say in the matter. So her resourcefulness and courage in adversity developed at an early age. They had to. Two sexual assaults in her teenage years had to be faced alone, as she would not have been believed if she reported the crimes. Moving to London in 1979, she didn't fare much better, and had to run the gauntlet of harsh attitudes towards her inter-racial marriage. This is a compelling true account that will leave you eager to read the forthcoming sequel, which continues where this one leaves off...