My Roots, My Love, My Destiny
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Her mind continued to churn with restlessness and fear, sleep eluded her. She continued to toss and turn as she listened to the iko songs echoing from the neighboring village. It reminded her of the year her ill-fated husband had initiated their marriage rites and her entry with other brides into the fattening room. It was the last year she participated in iko festival, as only maidens and unmarried men took part in the festival.
I’m now a fully married woman, she thought to herself and the thought jerked her bolt upright on the mud bed. Fresh fears of the unknown swamped her making her dizzy as she recalled what her mother-in-law had told her on arrival. When she took her into the house to make her a woman she had told her gently, “Your husband is not at home,” knowing the young girl was going to spend her wedding night alone. “He is with the white man at Enugu. Uche will take you to join him as soon as he has made safe arrangements for you to travel,” she assured her.
Ogeri had nodded mutely then, but now she asked herself fearfully as she lay in the darkness alone—married and yet a maiden again? Where’s Enugu? As if Ndibe is not far enough, now where’s this unknown place they call Enugu? Will I ever see my family again?
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About the Book
My Roots, My Love, My Destinyis the story of two strong women, told across an epic and rich canvas painted by two wars and two unique destinies. In her ninety-six years, Ogeri, author Beatrice Akpu Inyang Eleje’s mother, experienced danger, heartbreak, and great love. Her journey spanned most of the twentieth century and was dictated by the societal norms, values, and traditions of the Nigeria of her time. Lovingly reconstructed, these are a few of Eleje’s most beloved and revered memories of her mother. For the daughter, her journey was spent attempting to navigate rapidly changing waters. Caught between two colliding civilizations—the Western civilization and African culture and Nigeria—two cultures, and two world views, her path was less certain. While one world encouraged independence, the other demanded absolute filial obedience.
Rebellion was inevitable.
As Eleje listened to her mother speak of her life, the similarities emerged. Both women survived their husbands, and both knew the heartache of illness, loss, and uncertainty—as well as the joys of love in the most unexpected places. But through it all rings a life-sustaining truth worth celebrating: no matter how dark the tunnel, there is always light just around the corner … if you can just lift your head to look.
Designed to inspire younger women to persevere in the face of seemingly in-surmountable odds, the story of these two women proves that no matter what, you just need to take the next step—to-ward hope.
About the Author
Beatrice Akpu Inyang Eleje—“Mama” to her family and students—is a renowned primary-level teacher and acclaimed educator. Each of her nine children is a college graduate. Now widowed, she shares her time between Nigeria and the United States, where some of her children reside and work as citizens..