When I first laid hands on this book, although I try not to judge a book by its cover, I was misled by the hot pink flowery background. The name ‘Maame’ reeled me in as well as amazing reviews on GoodReads. I am glad I chose to read the book because there were many parallels I could draw to my own life—a relatable quality that all good authors create with their complex characters.

Maddie is a young British woman with parents that immigrated from Ghana before she was born. As a young teenager, she was handed the responsibility of taking care of her father who had been recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Her older brother was never around and spent most of his time with friends and her mother left for months (up to a year) at a time to live in Ghana and handle a family business. Maddie cared for her father from the beginning of his diagnosis until 10 years later when she was 25 years old. She had to grow up quickly and handle a responsibility that even grown adults shy away from.

I love the way the author created Maddie—a young woman struggling with providing adequate care for her ill father, battling a somewhat overbearing and religion-obsessed mother while dealing with the everyday struggles of being under-appreciated at her job. In addition, Maddie has never dated before and navigating the dating world is confusing and contradictory to her. Maddie constantly has an inner monologue with herself throughout the novel and googles random things we have all googled before such as “What do you do on a first date?”

Maddie is raw and she is real. I love that the author gave us insight into her emotions and why her upbringing has impacted the way she is now as a 25- year old woman. As the eldest daughter of immigrants myself, I know what it feels like to grow up quickly and accept responsibility. You have no choice but to mature at a young age especially when you come from an imperfect family situation.

I could relate with Maddie’s character about the pressure of being perfect. Of people pleasing. Of foregoing how you are feeling because you are concerned about what others’ might think. The author exhibits beautiful insight into Maddie’s Ghanaian upbringing along with the struggles of dating that most of us single 20-30-something year olds experience.

I highly recommend this book but more specifically I recommend it to daughters of color who will be able to relate to and understand Maddie’s experiences and maybe even find a piece of themselves in her.

*****

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