I Am Because We Are: An African Mother’s Fight for the Soul of a Nation

In this heartfelt if imperfect debut, Akunyili-Parr reflects on the life of her mother, Dora Akunyili (1954–2014), a titan of Nigerian politics. Writing in her mother’s voice, Akunyili-Parr starts with Dora’s childhood in Biafra—where, she notes, no one “was spared a first-hand experience of the [civil] war”—and charts her devotion to her academic studies, which later led to her rise through the ranks of local government. Inspired by the death of her sister due to a fake insulin shot in 1987, Akunyili “had a front-row seat to how the system discriminated against precisely those in need” and fought tirelessly against the corruption in Nigeria’s health-care system. Despite facing discrimination as an Igbo woman, Akunyili became director-general of the Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in 2001 and vowed to “tackle the Hydra-headed monster called counterfeit medicines.” While readers will undoubtedly be inspired by Akunyili’s role in shaping modern Nigeria, Akunyili-Parr’s approach to telling her mother’s story through a first-person narrative often yields writing that feels more formal than intimate—recalling her mother’s marriage to her father, for instance, Akunyili-Parr writes, “I felt so deeply blessed for this man that I now called husband.” The result unfortunately feels like a shallow summation of an immensely complicated life. (Jan.)