Today I am introducing my readers to “Mangoes in the Rain: No one can take away your Imaginations” by Chinaemelum Menakaya. Based on the author’s life, she tells of her struggles as she confronts her traumatic upbringing. Menakaya says, “My book was therapeutic for me write and I hope that others can be helped in the process of healing.” This is a remarkable story that demonstrates that we do not have to be confined by our past, rather, we can define ourselves to heal.
In 2002, fifteen-year-old Chinaemelum leaves America, to go to Nigeria for summer break. Months later, she fights for her life against malaria. Summer is over and her father refuses to give her back her passport to return to America with her mother. She is kept in Nigeria against her will, he puts her in an all-girls boarding school, where she struggles to adapt to life, in a 3rd world country.
