How is it that siblings growing up in the same family can end up in very different circumstances, and what is the true gauge of ‘success’ in our lives?

Is it a matter of luck that one member of a family grows into their full divine potential and others end up destitute, bitter and/or incapacitated?

The author’s dissection of an African Creole family and a Welsh nuclear family is a masterpiece in observation, detailing beyond surface appearances. Written with zero judgement or sympathy, the relationship dynamics playing out in each family are laid bare. The control, entitlement, pandering, fantasies and conflicts are not spared from the magnifying glass.

At a young age the author and three of her siblings were transported from Sierra Leone to England and she and two of her brothers were fostered out to a Welsh family. Here the rules were clearly to keep children ’in their place.’ This led to them being shut down and  insecure. For the author it was to be ‘good’ in the hope that she would be loved. Mediocrity was safe.

The Sierra Leonean family and the Welsh and English guardian families all held responsibility for the six children who grew up in different worlds, with values and customs that were determined by a framework called ‘family.’

For the West African family, private jets, expensive cars, global travel, academic and business success were enchantments to aspire to and be rewarded by. For the Welsh family it was to be contained and to fit in. Religious beliefs played a role in both families to keep up appearances of ‘the good family.’

K’s story highlights an extraordinary evolutionary path out of imprisoning consciousnesses embedded in family, religious and cultural beliefs.

She beautifully illustrates her trajectory out of this miasma to now being the powerhouse in the family and beyond – wise, loving and living with  purpose and joy every day.

The key ingredients that catapulted her to true stardom are shared with the reader so that I came away with the realisation of what a true homecoming looks and feels like. After all, isn’t this what we are all searching for?

– Bernadette C., Gold Coast