Cover Photo: Photograph by Artsy Solomon/Pexels
Photograph by Artsy Solomon/Pexels

Finding My Freedom Within Marriage and Motherhood

Navigating the burdens of expectation as a married woman in Nigeria

Ukamaka Olisakwe grew up in Kano, Nigeria, and now lives in Vermont. She was awarded an honorary fellowship in Writing from the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. In 2014, she was chosen as one of Africa’s most promising writers under the age of 40 by the UNESCO World Book Capital. In 2018, she won the Vermont College of Fine Arts’ Emerging Writer Scholarship for the MFA in Writing and Publishing program.

Her works have appeared or are forthcoming in the New York Times, Longreads, The Rumpus, Brittle Paper, RattleJalada, and more.