Rest of You

A powerful tale of womanhood, friendship, family secrets and the Black British experience, set between present-day England and mid-90s Ghana. On the cusp of thirty, Ghanaian Londoner Whitney Appiah was born with a special gift. The massage therapist can physically sense where her clients' trauma lies and heal them. But Whitney has no idea that she too is suffering. Tragic events from her youth have left a terrible, unseen mark. When a dangerous encounter with the man she's dating triggers a wave of fragmented recollections, Whitney embarks on a journey to reclaim her memories and the truth that is buried deep in her early childhood in Kumasi, Ghana. Spanning three decades, told through the viewpoints of Whitney; her aunts, Gloria and Aretha; and their house help, Maame Serwaa, The Rest of You explores what happens when we try to resolve the mysteries of our past.

A beautiful, compelling exploration of familial bonds, trauma and the secrets of the past. Maame Blue's tender, emotionally rich portrait of diasporic Black lives is a novel to return to. Highly recommended, Gripping - you wonder what isn't being said, but you feel it anyway, A novel that doesn't shy away from the modern issues of being Black and female. At times heartbreaking, this portrait of a family coming to terms with a tragic past is vivid and tender, Maame Blue's skill at crafting characters that take bits of your heart with them as you read the final pages; is a true gift. Following the characters through the intertwining of multiple timelines brought forth the force that yearning and longing actually possess. A wonderful book!