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'The problems of growing up with a famous parent are well documented - celebrity addiction clinics are full of those offspring unable to live in a long shadow. But what if your father is considered a saint? How do you cope with his legacy, when you can only see his flaws? How do you separate yourself from him, if you share his very name? It has taken five years, and the shared experiences of the children of other freedom fighters for Ken Wiwa, as he is now known, to come to terms with his father's legac - and to work out how to live in his shadow. His struggle, and theirs, are revealed in this book...""Telling stories is important in the Ogoni culture. The whole point is to counter death. In story-telling, I've been able to confront my father's death and to transcend it, to take something positive from it.""...'  -- Jojo Moyes * Independent * 'Ken Wiwa does not spare himself in this story. He reveals self-truths he is not proud of. You feel for him. You feel for his father. His elegantly written book is a weave of Nigerian family history, both turbulent, both tragic, neither without hope. The book is also a song of the Ogoni people, a tribute to their struggle, their endurance. It is, moreover, a story of being trapped in history; the children of heroes find their lives shaped by their parents...'  -- Sandra Jordan * Observer *

'The problems of growing up with a famous parent are well documented - celebrity addiction clinics are full of those offspring unable to live in a long shadow. But what if your father is considered a saint? How do you cope with his legacy, when you can only see his flaws? How do you separate yourself from him, if you share his very name? It has taken five years, and the shared experiences of the children of other freedom fighters for Ken Wiwa, as he is now known, to come to terms with his father's legac - and to work out how to live in his shadow. His struggle, and theirs, are revealed in this book... Telling stories is important in the Ogoni culture. The whole point is to counter death. In story-telling, I've been able to confront my father's death and to transcend it, to take something positive from it. ...' -- Jojo Moyes * Independent * 'Ken Wiwa does not spare himself in this story. He reveals self-truths he is not proud of. You feel for him. You feel for his father. His elegantly written book is a weave of Nigerian family history, both turbulent, both tragic, neither without hope. The book is also a song of the Ogoni people, a tribute to their struggle, their endurance. It is, moreover, a story of being trapped in history; the children of heroes find their lives shaped by their parents...' -- Sandra Jordan * Observer *

'The problems of growing up with a famous parent are well documented - celebrity addiction clinics are full of those offspring unable to live in a long shadow. But what if your father is considered a saint? How do you cope with his legacy, when you can only see his flaws? How do you separate yourself from him, if you share his very name? It has taken five years, and the shared experiences of the children of other freedom fighters for Ken Wiwa, as he is now known, to come to terms with his father's legac - and to work out how to live in his shadow. His struggle, and theirs, are revealed in this book... Telling stories is important in the Ogoni culture. The whole point is to counter death. In story-telling, I've been able to confront my father's death and to transcend it, to take something positive from it. ...' -- Jojo Moyes Independent 'Ken Wiwa does not spare himself in this story. He reveals self-truths he is not proud of. You feel for him. You feel for his father. His elegantly written book is a weave of Nigerian family history, both turbulent, both tragic, neither without hope. The book is also a song of the Ogoni people, a tribute to their struggle, their endurance. It is, moreover, a story of being trapped in history; the children of heroes find their lives shaped by their parents...' -- Sandra Jordan Observer

'The problems of growing up with a famous parent are well documented - celebrity addiction clinics are full of those offspring unable to live in a long shadow. But what if your father is considered a saint? How do you cope with his legacy, when you can only see his flaws? How do you separate yourself from him, if you share his very name? It has taken five years, and the shared experiences of the children of other freedom fighters for Ken Wiwa, as he is now known, to come to terms with his father's legac - and to work out how to live in his shadow. His struggle, and theirs, are revealed in this book... Telling stories is important in the Ogoni culture. The whole point is to counter death. In story-telling, I've been able to confront my father's death and to transcend it, to take something positive from it. ...' -- Jojo Moyes * Independent * 'Ken Wiwa does not spare himself in this story. He reveals self-truths he is not proud of. You feel for him. You feel for his father. His elegantly written book is a weave of Nigerian family history, both turbulent, both tragic, neither without hope. The book is also a song of the Ogoni people, a tribute to their struggle, their endurance. It is, moreover, a story of being trapped in history; the children of heroes find their lives shaped by their parents...' -- Sandra Jordan * Observer *

Author Information

Born in Nigeria and educated in England, Ken Wiwa now contributes regularly to UK newspapers including the Guardian, Sunday Telegraph, the Independent, the Independent on Sunday and the Observer. Internationally his journalism has appeared in Canada, South Africa, Holland, Germany and Spain and in a weekly column for Vanguard in Nigeria. Ken was also internet editor for the Guardian for nearly two years. He currently lives in Canada with his family and is senior resident writer at Massey College in the University of Toronto.

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