Fate of Our Mothers: The Collected Memories of an African Village Boy
Fate of Our Mothers is the first in the series of the author’s narrative of the assorted experiences that exemplify the first twenty years of his life. From rustic village life as a five year old boy, to the young adult person slated for the job of an untrained teacher in the city, the eclectic events in the author’s life bring to life the untold stories of rural living, featuring the cultural conflicts endemic in a patriarchal system where while men may rule, the women are the active prime movers in the order of things. The story or compendium of stories take the reader through a life that epitomizes the paradoxical interface among joy, peace, as well as tragedies and pains; successes and gains, as well as failures and losses; protection and comfort, as well as dangerous exposure and vulnerability. The story does not follow the orthodoxy of systematic chronicling that often characterizes traditional memoirs. Rather, the author verbally addresses his own four children, who were born and raised in America, a sporadic reflection of his childhood upbringing in a far away village of Oke-Awo, Aba Iresi in southwestern Nigeria. He describes the rustic simplicity of Yoruba village life, the beauty of living under the roof and compound of a caring father, two relentlessly hardworking mothers, ten siblings, many relatives, and a countless number of extended family members and non-relatives. In all, Fate of Our Mothers whispers into our collective conscience that the survival of the Yoruba universe is anchored in the fate of its women.
Michael Oladejo Afoláyan, PhD, is the founder and lead consultant for M & P Educational Consulting International, which is based in Springfield, Illinois, USA. Prior to this position, Michael served in various leadership positions over the more than three decades of his American sojourn, including having served as assistant director for academic affairs for the State of Illinois’ Board of Higher Education, and a professor of education at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He studied and has held appointments at Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Yale University. His background in education, linguistics, language of education, stylistics, and the critical discourse of culture, society, and learning has often echoed in his academic works. Happily married to his wife of 33 years, Dr. Precious O. Afoláyan, Michael is blessed with four children.
$40.99 Ι ISBN: 978-1-943533-00-8 Ι Published 2015 Ι 379 pages | Pan-African University Press