The story takes a deep plunge into the era, before, during and after the slave trade in Africa, and its inimical effects on the life of a teenage girl. In the book, Nwougo, the first person narrator, tells from her hospital bed, at an old age, a tragic but inspiring story of struggling with life as a slave girl, coupled with the emotional trauma of being sexually abused, and being a mother at a tender age, the pains of being denied her right to education because of discrimination against the girl child, and the tragedy of loosing her parents who could not survive the brutality of slavery.
At the end of the slave trade, Nwougo goes to stay with her aunt, Adanne in Lagos state, located in Western Nigeria, a visit she thought will change her life for the better, but rather turned out to be one in which she was subjected to all sorts of mistreatment, introduced into prostituition and denied the opportunity of being well-educated. Upon discovering her aunt's intentions to traffic her to Europe, where she would be used as a commercial sex partner, Nwougo fled home, and began her journey of survival.
Staged in the western part of Africa and Europe, it is a story that addresses the grave effects of slavery, the sexual and physical abuse the African child faces, and the injustices meted out against the girl child and women in general, evidenced in her denial of educational rights for the sake of her sex. It explores the socio-cultural beliefs of the traditional Igbo society, that longed believed women are meant to be chaste housewives and mothers, and therefore should not be allowed to go to school. It is a tale of sorrow, tragedy, a painful life, love and the pleasant rewards of facing life with much grit and resilience inspite of its unfairness. At the end of the day, through a twist of fate, Nwougo finds the love of her life in the person of Jide, the son of Mrs. Fumilayo, a lady who picked her up from the street and helped her, and this helped her process of healing and recovery, as she also learnt to give back to her community and be of inspiration to those affected by the same ordeal. The story uses non-fictional places, and events to tell a fictional story.
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