Read this when
Notes on Grief
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on losing her dad: grief isn't soft. It's rage, aching arms and hating the word 'demise'. You're not doing it wrong.
Who it's for
Adichie's father, James Nwoye Adichie, dies suddenly in Nigeria in June 2020 while she is in the United States and cannot travel because of the pandemic.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Notes on Grief is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's 2021 memoir about the death of her father, James Nwoye Adichie, in June 2020 during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Expanded from an essay first published in The New Yorker, it is told in 30 brief sections. Adichie describes her experience of grief and remembers her father, including the ways he shaped her as a writer.
Where to find it
In print (Knopf/Fourth Estate) and widely available; libraries (Libby/Hoopla); audiobook available. Began as a 2020 New Yorker essay.
Before you start
Heads up: Sudden death of a parent.
Age: Ages 12+
I have suffered and despaired and known death and I am glad that I am in this great world.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 323
