Breena Clarke's Blog: A Few Whiles - Posts Tagged "nana-ekua-brew-hammond"

In Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's debut novel, "Powder Necklace, Lila, born and acculturated in London is uprooted to Ghana, her mother's childhood home.Uprooted suddenly from her accustomed life by her capricious mother Lila becomes a "broni", a foreigner and must learn a new culture. Brew-Hammond's scenes at Dadaba, the boarding school in Ghana that Lila's aunt bribes her way into is unsparing and revealing as is this entire novel of insights. Though the divorced single mother and the angst-ridden teenaged daughter conflict is at the heart of "Powder Necklace," the novel is not simply a "mad at mom" type of narrative. The challenges of adapting to ordinary, everyday global disparities in access to education, water, and lifestyle choices are at the center of Lila's journeys through London, Ghana and the United States. "Powder Necklace" is a lyrical exploration of the complex identities of individuals whose roots are nurtured in diverse soils. Nana Elua Brew-Hammond will read from "Powder Necklace" at the six annual Hobart Festival of Women Writers 2018 on September 7 8,&9th.