Can I Be Me?

About the Book

Esther Armah is a black British journalist, with a troubled soul and a questioning mind. She's an addict. Addicted to the need for approval, the desire for applause, bright lights and struggle. She's also on a quest. Hungry for a place of belonging, a place of comfort and acceptance of her identity; black, British, Ghanaian and Afrocentric. That need becomes intertwined with her chosen profession – the media. Can she find a place of refuge in her travels and her profession? Esther decides to fight her fix and come clean. Getting clean means spilling the beans. So starting with her family all the way into the sometimes murky world of the British media, Esther spills with abandon. Brutally honest, blackly humorous, emotionally revealing and at times painful; CAN I BE ME? is a universal story. Who would you be without your daily addictions? How did you get addicted to your drug of choice? Who would you be if there were no applause, disappointment, injustice, discrimination or rejection?

About the Author

Esther Armah is an award nominated tri media freelance journalist, whose work spans print, radio and television. The London-born writer and broadcaster drew on her traumatic experiences as a Ghanaian politician?s daughter during the 1966 military coup in Ghana, which saw her family endure two years under house arrest before returning to the UK in 1968. Esther?s Ghanaian experience cemented her passion for justice and has fuelled her journalistic work. Her journalistic passions include identity, emotional and mental health, Africa. She started in print journalism writing for ?The Weekly Journal? newspaper and ?West Africa? magazine before going into broadcast media. In radio, as an investigative reporter she has made documentaries for BBC Radio 4; BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC World Service. Also in radio, she is a presenter of Saturday and Sunday?s ?Up All Night?, a live four-hour talk show on BBC Radio 5 Live. In television she has worked on BBC1?s Panorama, hosted Panorama Interactive and as a broadcaster she has appeared on Sky TV?s ?The Richard Littlejohn Show?. As a reporter, her work has taken her from Peckham in South London to Pretoria in South Africa including Washington DC, Philadelphia, Ghana, Nigeria, Lesotho and Kenya. Internationally, she had a regular slot; ?Connections? on WBAI radio in New York and has also written for the leading African American style magazine ?Essence? on black British culture. She?s a director of multi-media production company Centric Productions which has a creative and corporate arm. The creative side makes radio and television documentaries. The corporate host events and seminars on the significance of devising strategies for success and sustainability within media for diverse communities. Can I Be Me? is her first book. She lives in London.