TITLE: A WALK IN HER SHOES
AUTHORS: YEWANDE OGUNNUBI & TOMISIN OGUNNUBI
GENRE: PROSE (NON-FICTION)
PUBLISHER: WORDS RHYMES AND RHYTHMS LTD
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2018
ISBN: 978-978-55613-9-5
NO. OF PAGES: 102
REVIEWER: EUGENE YAKUBU
In this deeply emotional account, mother and daughter recount stories from their unique perspectives. A Walk in her Shoes is neither the everyday sort of autobiography nor memoir, even when it combines elements of both; it however stands out as a personal account of mother and daughter conversing about issues that revolve around their lives as family, mother, daughter, friends and role model as the case may be.
This book is unique for the fact that it successfully brings together two narrative voices using the first person narrative, each voice independent and comprehended and each contributing to the various issues raised in the text. Like drama A Walk in her Shoes has an active dialogue and unlike drama there are no ensuing actions.
The emotional bond between mother and daughter is deeply felt as they touch on issues swirling around love and romance, friends and lovers, religion and spirituality, pain and passion, sex and sexuality, fashion and the corporeal body.
They mused on their fears and aspirations, their sensitivities and confidence with an unbelievable honesty that will definitely impress the reader. Never have I seen such ingenious restructuring of the prose form. The authors will practically have the reader engross in their narration even when it revolves around just the two of them and occasional references to friends and acquaintances.
Like Beckett’s drama Waiting for Godot with its two characters that successfully enchants readers to the end with no possible action happening and no plot twist or resolution, this presumptuous work delivers no plot but still yet leaves the reader with varieties of issues in his imagination.
The fact that this is not just another prose work but has true-life accounts and references makes this piece of work easily relatable. This is a chance for readers to glance into the lives of humans like them as they live through pain and pleasure, broken dreams and dreams, joy and happiness, and it has a lucidity which makes it as natural as it is real.
A Walk in her Shoes is devoid of the pretentiousness and misrepresentation of some personal narratives.
It is easy to see the truthfulness in the accounts because after all said and done, the mother’s narratives blends with the daughter’s and the daughter’s with the mother’s. Even though each character has a unique voice in the narrative, they sometimes agree and disagree on some issues.
While the daughter, like any other daughter sees the mother as “old school” and unsophisticated the mother thinks the daughter is standoffish and reserved. While the mother is liberal and outgoing, the daughter is conservative and withdrawn. While the mother’s sense of fashion strictly contrasts the daughter’s, the daughter thinks her fashion sense is the trend.
This diverse perspective gives the narrative vitality and offers each character a chance to unearth her voice and tell her stories.
In the narrative, the mother’s voice is experienced and nostalgic, contemplative of the past lived while the daughter’s is innocent and resolute, confident of the future yet to come. The two voices represent two generations of life like the doubly-faced Roman god Janus: one a doorway, the other a passage, whose faces look to the past and the other to the future respectively.
Thus, what the mother lacks, the daughter compensates for, and what the daughter lacks, the mother stands in for. The reader is sure to have the best of worlds, the elderly and the young.
There are a lot of things to be learned in this book. It teaches parents to be accommodating to their children and it teaches children to be open and friendly with their parents. It espouses on the family as a microcosm for socialization and calls on the parent to institutionalize their children into acceptable social norms and virtuous lifestyle.
A Walk in her Shoes is motivational as well ethical, it is adventurous and social, and it is historical and informative. This book is a two-generational history of deeply personal events seen through the eyes of two analytical participants decorated by significantly heart-touching anecdotes.
One interesting and inviting fact about the book is it is eminently readable and relatable. It is of everyday life of people we can put ourselves in their shoes. It has simple rules and standards of life that you’d be surprise you never knew. Thus, if you enjoy chunks of autobiographies briskly related by humane voices doling out social, spiritual, religious and moral advises, you’ll enjoy these warm conversations between mother and daughter, between mother and her self, and daughter and herself.
This enormously readable untraditional autobiography or memoir or even discourse between mother and daughter belongs to the shelf of every household. It is an exciting, eye-opening account for ladies and women, mothers and daughters. This book has the capacity to prick consciences and redirect broken hearts and wayward lifestyle. It is highly recommended not just for its uniqueness and novelty of narration but also for its honesty.
One thing is sure with this book: it will spark that sensitive yet crucial conversation between family, mother and daughter, father and son that is long due. It will teach social and religious values, sexual and relationship values and also inspire readers to find their truest passion and live out their potentials.
