Broken Places & Outer Spaces

Starred review from May 27, 2019
Novelist Okorafor (Akata Witch) explains in this eloquent memoir how a harrowing medical experience caused her to reevaluate her potential, realize new goals, and begin writing science fiction. Okorafor has always suffered from scoliosis and decided while in college to have surgery to repair parts of her spine. The risky procedure left her paralyzed from the waist down. She explores how, lying in her hospital bed, her dreams of running with siblings—something she wouldn’t do again—and hallucinations of insects (induced by her morphine IV) kick-started her conception of the fantastical worlds she would eventually put to page. Filling her work with affecting, rich descriptions, she explains both her realization of what has happened and her process of moving forward: “Battling through my paralysis ignited my passion for storytelling and the transformative power of the imagination.” While recovering, Okorafor, on a whim during an arts-and-crafts class, makes a clay figurine that becomes the inspiration for her first novel. Also included is Okorafor’s wonderful analysis of how personal tragedy affected the careers of Frida Kahlo and Mary Shelley. Okorafor’s gripping account of her recovery will inspire any reader.

Starred review from July 1, 2019

In her nonfiction debut, novelist Okorafor (Binti novellas) chronicles her journey from promising athlete to successful sf author. Okorafor discovered her passion for writing during her long recovery from back surgery. The daughter of Nigerian immigrants, she envisioned a future in entomology and running track. However, surgery to fix her scoliosis led to temporary paralysis, grueling physical therapy, and an end to her athletic career. Writing her thoughts in the margins of books and on scraps of paper, Okorafor began to reconsider her career plans. She started writing short stories with a scientific bent and elements of magical realism allowing disabled characters to become strong and powerful. In these brief pages, the author takes readers on a journey that is a bittersweet mix of past and present: family visits to her parents' native Nigeria, racism and bigotry in the family's chosen home of Illinois, and the strenuous period of growth and recovery that included bouts of depression, disillusionment with science, and feelings of helplessness. VERDICT A brief but arresting memoir draped with colors of hope and resilience. [See Prepub Alert, 12/6/18.]--Leah Huey, Dekalb P.L., IL

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