Poignant and heartbreaking. 

teared up several times. adiche captures the unmooring of grief while simultaneously inviting us to witness the love she has for her father and the love her father has for his children. 

Very reflective, made me think about my own experience with grief. You can tell Chimamanda's father's death hit her hard. The love that she has for her parents is something I wish I had with mine. Her writing made me reflect on my own dynamics with my parents.

Chimamanda writes with such vulnerable emotions on grieving her father that you cannot help but feel her grief yourself. Especially if you’ve ever lost someone you love and cherish, losing them can take such a toll on your overall wellbeing. You feel that through every line of this book. We all lived through COVID and the isolation and loneliness that it brought upon us. She peels back the curtain on what it was like for her family to all have to video chat weekly, only to be told one day her father passed away in their home in Nigeria and having to delay the funeral due to airports being shut down and no flights going in or out of countries. I had 4 family members pass during COVID (2 from COVID), and it was awful to experience being unable to properly gather for our loved ones and grieve together during that time. 

It’s a short read, but it packs a punch to the gut. Reading her words on loss and grief made me sit with her words and my own feelings on those I’ve lost. It can be difficult to evoke emotions from others, and Chimamanda always does such an incredible job of peeling back layers and making the reader feel and empathize. 

If you are grieving or have grieved or just want to read a beautifully written book, I recommend reading these notes. She did not have to be vulnerable and lay out these words to us, but I am grateful that she did.