Nadia Owusu is a writer who has captivated readers with her powerful and personal memoir, Aftershocks. In this post, we will explore her life story, her achievements, and her impact on the literary world.
Who is Nadia Owusu?
Nadia Owusu was born on February 23, 1981, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to a Ghanaian father and an Armenian-American mother. Her father worked for the United Nations, which meant that Nadia moved a lot as a child, living in different countries across Africa, Europe, and Asia. She experienced various cultures, languages, and identities, but also faced the challenges of racism, displacement, and loss.
When Nadia was two years old, her mother left the family and moved back to the United States. Nadia did not see her again until she was 18. When Nadia was seven, her father married a Ugandan woman, who became Nadia’s stepmother. Nadia loved her stepmother, but she also felt betrayed by her father, who did not tell her about his new marriage until after the fact. When Nadia was 13, her father died of cancer, leaving her orphaned and alone.
Nadia moved to New York to live with her maternal grandparents, who were survivors of the Armenian genocide. She struggled to fit in with her new family and community, and to cope with her grief and trauma. She developed an eating disorder, suffered from depression, and attempted suicide. She also began to question her identity, her belonging, and her purpose.
Nadia found solace and strength in writing, reading, and learning. She graduated from Pace University, Hunter College, and Mountainview College. She became an urbanist, working for social change organizations that focus on issues such as housing, education, and health. She also pursued her passion for creative writing, publishing essays, stories, and poems in various outlets.
What is Aftershocks?
Aftershocks is Nadia’s debut memoir, published by Simon & Schuster in 2020. It is a stunning and honest account of her life, from her childhood to her adulthood, and the events that shaped her. It is also a reflection on the themes of identity, belonging, family, trauma, healing, and resilience.
The book is structured around the metaphor of earthquakes and their aftershocks, which Nadia uses to describe the impact of the major losses and changes in her life. She also draws on the histories and cultures of the places she lived in and visited, weaving them into her personal narrative. She explores the complexities and contradictions of her mixed-race, transnational, and diasporic identity, and how it influenced her relationships, choices, and worldview.
The book received critical acclaim and widespread recognition. It was selected as a best book of 2020 by over a dozen publications, including Time, Vogue, Esquire, and the BBC. It was also named one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year, and chosen by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai for her Literati book club. Nadia won the 2019 Whiting Award in nonfiction for her memoir, and was a finalist for the 2021 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award.
Why is Nadia Owusu important?
Nadia Owusu is important because she is a writer who shares her story with courage, vulnerability, and grace. She is a writer who challenges the stereotypes and expectations that society imposes on people of color, women, immigrants, and survivors. She is a writer who inspires and empowers others to find their voice, their truth, and their place in the world.
What Is Nadia Owusu's Writing Style?
Nadia Owusu’s writing style is personal, poetic, and powerful. She uses her own experiences of trauma, race, and belonging to explore larger themes of history, identity, and culture. She writes in a non-linear and fragmented way, shifting between different times, places, and perspectives.
She also blends different genres and forms, such as memoir, essay, criticism, and fiction. She employs vivid imagery, metaphors, and symbolism to convey her emotions and insights. She is influenced by writers such as Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, and Zadie Smith.
Some examples of her writing style are:
From Aftershocks: "When I picture an earthquake, I picture an earthquake. And, I picture my mother’s back and my father’s tumor and planes crashing into towers. When I picture an earthquake, I picture orphans in Armenia and child soldiers. I picture myself, safe, behind guarded walls. I picture an absence. I hear thunder and silence. An earthquake is trauma and vulnerability: The earth’s, mine, yours."
From Why I Started Wearing Head Wraps: "I began to wear head wraps as a way of reclaiming my blackness, of honoring my ancestors, of connecting to a lineage of women who wrapped their hair as a sign of beauty, power, and resistance. I wore them to feel closer to my father, who died when I was young, and to his homeland of Ghana, where I spent some of my childhood. I wore them to celebrate the diversity and richness of the African diaspora, to which I belong in all its complexity and contradiction."
From Fatherland: “My father’s country is a ghost. It haunts me in the stories he used to tell me about his childhood in Ghana. It haunts me in the music he played for me, the highlife and the Afrobeat, the horns and the drums and the voices blending into a joyous and defiant cacophony. It haunts me in the food he cooked for me, the spicy stews and the jollof rice, the fried plantains and the peanut soup. It haunts me in the photographs he showed me, the ones where he is smiling with his friends and family, the ones where he is wearing his dashiki and his afro, the ones where he is young and alive.”
What Are Some Other Books That Nadia Owusu Has Written?
Nadia Owusu has written two other books besides her memoir Aftershocks. They are:
So Devilish a Fire, a chapbook of lyrical essays that explore the author’s experiences of living in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide.
The Unbroken Line, a forthcoming collection of essays that examine the intersections of identity, history, and culture in Africa and the African diaspora.
Nadia Owusu is a talented and versatile writer who has received many accolades for her work.
How Many Awards Has Nadia Owusu Won?
Nadia Owusu is a writer and memoirist who has won several awards for her work. According to the web search results, some of the awards she has won are:
A Whiting Award in nonfiction for her memoir Aftershocks
The Atlas Review chapbook contest for her lyric essay So Devilish a Fire
A New York Times Editors’ Choice pick for Aftershocks
One of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year for Aftershocks
One of Malala Yousafzai’s Literati book club selections for Aftershocks
Fellowships from Yaddo and Art Omi
She is also a teacher and an urban planner who works with social-change organizations. You can learn more about her and her books from her official website.
Nadia Owusu Net Worth
Nadia Owusu’s net worth in 2023 was estimated to be between $1 million and $5 million. However, this information may not be accurate or up-to-date, as net worth can vary depending on many factors. Nadia Owusu is a Brooklyn-based writer and urbanist, who won a Whiting Award in nonfiction for her memoir Aftershocks.
Controversy And Activism Of Nadia Owusu
Nadia Owusu is a writer and activist who has written a memoir called Aftershocks, which explores her experiences of trauma, race, and belonging. She was born in Tanzania to an Armenian-American mother and a Ghanaian father, and grew up in various countries around the world. She currently lives in New York, where she teaches writing and works as a director of storytelling at a social change organization.
Some of the controversies and activism that Owusu has been involved in are:
She has spoken out about the Armenian genocide and its impact on her family and identity. She has also criticized Turkey’s denial of the genocide and its role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
She has advocated for racial justice and equity in the US, especially after the killing of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. She has written about the challenges of being a black woman in a predominantly white society, and the need for solidarity and healing among people of color.
She has shared her personal stories of trauma and mental health, such as being abandoned by her mother, losing her father to AIDS, and suffering from a psychotic break. She has also explored the intergenerational and historical trauma that shapes her and her communities. She has used writing as a form of healing and activism, and encouraged others to do the same .
Conclusion
Nadia Owusu is a remarkable writer and urbanist who has lived and worked in many parts of the world. Her memoir, Aftershocks, is a stunning exploration of her identity, trauma, and healing. She is also a teacher, a consultant, and a Whiting Award winner. Nadia Owusu is a voice of courage, resilience, and creativity.
