Sometimes I think we have children because we want to leave behind someone who can explain who we were to the world when we are gone."
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Childlessness
Multiple Child Loss/Death
Infertility
Taboo
Sickle Cell Anemia
Set in Nigeria, #StayWithMe gives voice to both Yejide and Akin as they tell the story of their marriage--and the forces that threaten to tear it apart as they kept consulting fertility doctors and healers, trying strange teas and unlikely cures for Yejide to bear a child.
This is a typical story/issue in Nigeria, down to this present time where childbearing in a marriage is regarded as mandatory by family members and inlaws plus polygamy too when this fails. So it was a delight to read about it in this particular setting, especially at the twist.
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ wrote this so well portraying the cultures of Nigeria and societal expectations. Slow paced but well written. Sometimes sad, but still uplifting