Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu, is memoir that features earthquakes as actual events and as a metaphor for disrupting events in her own life, including abandonment by her mother and the death of the father she idolized. Owusu is the daughter of an Armenian mother and a Ghanaian father who was a U.N. official. She grew up in the world of international diplomats, all over the world – in Africa, Europe, and, when she was 18, New York City. The memoir is about coming to terms with her mother who abandoned her, her stepmother with whom fought, and the idealization of her father, whom she adored.

Independent of the family issues, which have the deeper energy, it’s also about figuring out where she fits in culturally and racially. And given that she’s lived in so many different countries, the issues of caste and race are different in each one but present in all. The book culminates with a kind of mental breakdown where she sits in a blue chair in her NYC apartment and falls apart, then tries to put herself back together.

The writing is especially good in certain parts of the book where the author evokes without explaining the subtle dynamics between her and her mothers and father (reminiscent of Mary Karr). Here’s what Kirkus Reviews says:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nadia-owusu/aftershocks-owusu/