“With her plane unexpectedly grounded in Addis Ababa, Dessie, burdened with secrets and mourning the death of her mother, is forced to confront a history that is different from what she’d been raised to believe. Featuring gorgeous prose and a most compellingly prickly narrator, Fisseha’s debut novel is a puzzle, a page-turner, and a triumph.”
“Fisseha’s assured debut straddles two worlds and is vividly, insightfully, embedded in both. She takes on some of the trickiest of family and cultural dilemmas with affection and beady-eyed aplomb.”
“A story of trauma and reckoning, of flight and return, told honestly, written boldly.”
“Fisseha’s remarkable debut tells the story of a family fractured by secrets and grief and a young woman’s journey to find healing and survival. Dessie is a character I will not forget, and her voice — confident, vulnerable, and sharp — stayed with me. This book will break your heart and then precariously mend it back together.”
“Rebecca Fisseha maps a young woman’s journey into adulthood and forgiveness with care, sensitivity, and sly humour.”
“A touching and confident debut … unforgettable prose … Fisseha crafts a profound and heartbreaking story of a mother-daughter relationship that is deeply fractured in life but mourned greatly in death”
– Herizons