Maame (Mother)

Maame is a collection of linked stories about women in a small community in Ghana. Life in the village is a constant rotation between the real and the supernatural. For girls there exists a short window between childhood and adulthood, in which they must learn to navigate a stringent code of conduct, if they are to succeed. But what is success? What makes a good mother? What happens when they have eventually had enough?

Ahu is a young woman married at fifteen and widowed with two children at eighteen. She overcomes all odds to set an example for future generations of girls, to enable them to reach out beyond the limits imposed upon them through tradition. Through her beautifully told, lyrical stories about three generations of women, in a style that reflects her subject and setting, Ahu introduces us to her community, the beliefs and customs that swallow many of her compatriots, and her own renaissance that starts in her a personal rebellion and revolution.