SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION
'Vivid and empowering'GILLIAN ANDERSON
āHeart-stoppingly grippingāBERNARDINE EVARISTO
āDazzlingāTARA WESTOVER
āA story about hope, imagination and resilienceāGUARDIAN
An award-winning, inspiring memoir of family, education and resilience.
Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where luxury hotels line pristine white sand beaches, Safiya Sinclair grew up guarding herself against an ever-present threat. Her father, a volatile reggae musician and strict believer in a militant sect of Rastafari, railed against Babylon, the corrupting influence of the immoral Western world just beyond their gate. To protect the purity of the women in their family he forbade almost everything.
Her mother did what she could to bring joy to her children with books and poetry. But as Safiyaās imagination reached beyond its restrictive borders, her burgeoning independence brought with it ever greater clashes with her father. Soon she realised that if she was to live at all, she had to find some way to leave home. But how?
is an unforgettable story of a young womanās determination to live life on her own terms.How to Say Babylon
āI adored this book ā¦ UnforgettableāELIF SHAFAK
āElectrifyingāOBSERVER
āTo read it is to believe that words can saveāMARLON JAMES
āBreathless, scorchingāNEW YORK TIMES