Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Chiwueze Ihebuzor's Ndáwí: A Story That Refused to Be Silenced is a son's journey to reconstruct the life of his mother, Cordelia Ndáwí Ihebuzor, and the history surrounding her death in 1990. Raised inside a polygamous Igbo household shaped by hierarchy and unresolved resentment, Cordelia pursues education despite early hardship before building a life as a teacher, wife, mother, and university graduate. Her marriage to academic Noel Ihebuzor begins with a chance roadside meeting that develops into a long exchange of letters across Nigeria, eventually leading them to marriage in Leeds. As the family returns to Nigeria and Cordelia’s success becomes more visible, tension inside both extended families begins to reshape daily life around her, leaving lasting consequences for the children forced to grow up after her death.

Chiwueze Ihebuzor’s Ndáwí offers the quiet authority of someone sitting across from you long after midnight, speaking carefully because every memory still has weight. Ihebuzor writes about his mother with affection that never blinds him to the harder truths surrounding her life, and this is what gives his book pure, raw honesty. When he describes his mother preparing for her master’s defence shortly before her sudden death, I was genuinely heartbroken. This is amplified later, when her funeral convoy is stopped beside the mango tree connected to her courtship. The dispute over her burial says so much more about family possession and control than most would be able to handle. I am really impressed by Ihebuzor's patience, particularly when he finds the immense self-control not to point fingers and assign blame. I cannot say with any certainty that I'd have been able to put the desire for information above grievances. Ihebuzor is better than the majority of us, and it is clear where he gets it from: the mother who inspired this book. Very, very highly recommended.