Writing the Body:Lady Problems
Faith Adiele speaks truth from her body in The Nigerian-Nordic Girls Guide to Lady Problems. I had the distinct pleasure to listen to this on audiobook, it was delightful to listen to her voice, hear the cadence, the rhythm, the humorous, loving impersonations, her voice absolutely devoid of self pity or any trace of bitterness. Alive, reflective, intelligent, calm no matter how gory the details or harsh the realities.
I was struck by the balance Adiele brings to this piece but I think that it must be indicative of who she is as a person and as writer, skilled in her ability to externalize her truths to the reader, to clearly present her story. It appears to me that it is very possibly the intergenerational pain are being expressed within her throat, her womb, the creative centers of her very being and the place of the family, the seat of her desire to bear life and express meaning, truth. Adiele's sharing of her feelings of incredulousness at the surreal revelation of the healing touch practitioner, that "Words and emotions are held in the belly" portray her as reliable narrator. Yet, even her malady has symmetry and symbolism! Four fibroids present themselves after Adiele returns from visiting her siblings in Nigeria. They refuse to be ignored despite their "benign" designation; "the large berserk one", must be the American sibling...yet clearly Adiele suffers "the loneliness of being the only Black woman in her family" after she returns home to American.
Adiele uses her various cultural worldviews to consider her experiences with fibroids. Adiele's story incorporates the profound distrust of medical practitioners due to the incredible abundance of medical malfeasance experienced by her Finnish family juctapositioned with the Nigerian belief that maladies are caused by an individual being out of alignment with spirit, land or community. When an Ebo child is born their afterbirth is to be returned to the mother, the land, they are one. Yet Adiele's story is of a cursed (because he is a twin) Nigerian boy far from home who loved a Finnish girl, who then bore a child in a home for unwed mother's and was never allowed to speak of it. This lady malady appears within the body of the mother and then the child; uniting them in truth and pain manifests within their bodies. Adiele remembers her mother's words, "All the things I never said, balled up inside of me."
Adiele's use of language and imagery had a powerful effect on me. From her description of "Mr. Fix it" his roommates who eat off of freebies to the tale of the "odd family" that spend her first night facing the fire of the pain create such vivid images. It also served as a strong counterpoint to the painful truths regarding how racism and racist attitudes continue to stain the medical profession and dominant society. The roommates discussion of the reasons which lay behind the doctor's negligence to inquire weather Adiele hoped to have children before presenting hysterectomy as her only option gutted me. The fact remains that they gave her that advise because she was a Black woman, "You, or someone like you, has had enough babies" is unacceptable yet it persist. Yet, Faith goes on to state, "They don't see our families; how much love we have." Another example of racial bias comes via the reaction that Adiele received when she experiences her second unmanageable pain episode at the theatre, here she is ignored by the fellow audience members. Adiele asserts that perhaps their apparent lack of empathy was because they assumed that she was the,"type of frightening Black woman that pain will happen to."
Some of the things will forever stick with me from this piece are Adiele's description of the tree that saved her Nigerian family's village, the breadth and the details of it are incredible. The stories of the afterbirth that are placed under the fruit bearing trees, that those whom,"bite the fruit of their natal tree, taste of their own blood." how powerful is this gift of belonging, of knowing where you come from and where you are meant to be is. But for myself, I heard a resounding, "yes" echoing within when I heard Adiele being asked,"Do you often feel next to yourself?" I too believe that, "because of pain we are all alone."
The end came abruptly for me and I found myself with questions...
but I have come to embrace ambiguity. For life, living stories and persons are not little packages which can be neatly tied up with a pretty little bow.
I was struck by the balance Adiele brings to this piece but I think that it must be indicative of who she is as a person and as writer, skilled in her ability to externalize her truths to the reader, to clearly present her story. It appears to me that it is very possibly the intergenerational pain are being expressed within her throat, her womb, the creative centers of her very being and the place of the family, the seat of her desire to bear life and express meaning, truth. Adiele's sharing of her feelings of incredulousness at the surreal revelation of the healing touch practitioner, that "Words and emotions are held in the belly" portray her as reliable narrator. Yet, even her malady has symmetry and symbolism! Four fibroids present themselves after Adiele returns from visiting her siblings in Nigeria. They refuse to be ignored despite their "benign" designation; "the large berserk one", must be the American sibling...yet clearly Adiele suffers "the loneliness of being the only Black woman in her family" after she returns home to American.
Adiele uses her various cultural worldviews to consider her experiences with fibroids. Adiele's story incorporates the profound distrust of medical practitioners due to the incredible abundance of medical malfeasance experienced by her Finnish family juctapositioned with the Nigerian belief that maladies are caused by an individual being out of alignment with spirit, land or community. When an Ebo child is born their afterbirth is to be returned to the mother, the land, they are one. Yet Adiele's story is of a cursed (because he is a twin) Nigerian boy far from home who loved a Finnish girl, who then bore a child in a home for unwed mother's and was never allowed to speak of it. This lady malady appears within the body of the mother and then the child; uniting them in truth and pain manifests within their bodies. Adiele remembers her mother's words, "All the things I never said, balled up inside of me."
Adiele's use of language and imagery had a powerful effect on me. From her description of "Mr. Fix it" his roommates who eat off of freebies to the tale of the "odd family" that spend her first night facing the fire of the pain create such vivid images. It also served as a strong counterpoint to the painful truths regarding how racism and racist attitudes continue to stain the medical profession and dominant society. The roommates discussion of the reasons which lay behind the doctor's negligence to inquire weather Adiele hoped to have children before presenting hysterectomy as her only option gutted me. The fact remains that they gave her that advise because she was a Black woman, "You, or someone like you, has had enough babies" is unacceptable yet it persist. Yet, Faith goes on to state, "They don't see our families; how much love we have." Another example of racial bias comes via the reaction that Adiele received when she experiences her second unmanageable pain episode at the theatre, here she is ignored by the fellow audience members. Adiele asserts that perhaps their apparent lack of empathy was because they assumed that she was the,"type of frightening Black woman that pain will happen to."
Some of the things will forever stick with me from this piece are Adiele's description of the tree that saved her Nigerian family's village, the breadth and the details of it are incredible. The stories of the afterbirth that are placed under the fruit bearing trees, that those whom,"bite the fruit of their natal tree, taste of their own blood." how powerful is this gift of belonging, of knowing where you come from and where you are meant to be is. But for myself, I heard a resounding, "yes" echoing within when I heard Adiele being asked,"Do you often feel next to yourself?" I too believe that, "because of pain we are all alone."
The end came abruptly for me and I found myself with questions...
but I have come to embrace ambiguity. For life, living stories and persons are not little packages which can be neatly tied up with a pretty little bow.
Nice post Lora, that really explores the contributing factors to the disappointment in the protagonist's story. I appreciate how you follow her narrative to the core beliefs that come from both sides of the family.
ReplyDeletee
I agree, the ending came a little suddenly for me, as well. I also wanted more details about some of the stories she brought up, instead of just the little vignettes (such as the theatre episode), but maybe that is just the greed of the reader!
ReplyDeleteI like how we noted different episodes/stories (such as the symmetry of the fibroids, and the frisbee-eating, the after-birth, etc); that some resonated more than others with us. I guess that is the beauty of literature, that different parts speak more to different people.