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Uzo Amaka was born in Oakland California, to a Nigerian father and American mother. Grew up in Lagos Nigeria, and returned to America in 1991. Her first book, "Ages of Suffocation: Remembered Dreams," has been winning new and avid book readers everyday since its publication in 2015. In 2015, she was presented with an Innovator Award at the 2015 Silicon Valley African film festival, has received rave reviews from book critics such as Teresa Beasley in "Authors & Readers Book Corner", and in 2016 from Tiffany Davis for "Readers’ Favorite."
Reviewed by Tiffany Davis for Readers' Favorite
Ages of Suffocation: Remembered Dreams by Uzo Amaka breaks down the life of Oma into three different portions. The story starts off with background information about the treatment the girls received from their stepmother in the absence of their father. The sisters led very abusive lives until they moved to California where they were reunited with a mother they hardly knew. Oma found out the truth about her father and how he treated her mother as a result of not having any boys while they were married. Oma eventually went to live with her uncle Chuks, which was going well until his wife got jealous and sent his three children from Nigeria to also live with him in his two-bedroom home. These young women seemed to have such a hard upbringing. Through it all they continued to overcome each obstacle and started their own lives as adults.
The dysfunction of Oma's marriage to Sebastian was most confusing because he was such a proud man and viewed everything as a sign of disrespect, when he was actually the one with things to hide. Oma was an honest woman because she initiated a conversation with her husband to try to resolve all their issues. She told him about how she almost had an affair with her best friend in hopes that it would help to reconstruct her marriage.
From the very first page of this novel, I was intrigued as to why anyone would treat children in such a terrible way. However, the end portion of the story made me smile and hope that things in Oma's life were looking up for the better. This is an amazing story of strength and dedication. The depth of the emotions coming through each page of the book was intense. I truly enjoyed reading this amazing story! This book was a very good read.
