Why a Booktrail?
1940s: ‘We were three: complete, as we were meant to be…’
We Were Girls Once
What you need to know before your trail
Ego, Zina and Eriife were always destined to be best friends, ever since their grandmothers sat next to each other on a dusty bus to Lagos in the late 1940s, forging a bond that would last generations. But over half a century later, Nigeria is a new and modern country. As the three young women navigate the incessant strikes and political turmoil that surrounds them, their connection is shattered by a terrible assault. In the aftermath, nothing will remain the same as life takes them down separate paths.
For Ego, now a high-powered London lawyer, success can’t mask her loneliness and feelings of being an outsider. Desperate to feel connected to Nigeria, she escapes into a secret life online. Zina’s ambition is to be anyone but herself; acting proves the ultimate catharsis, but it comes at the cost of her family. And Eriife surprises everyone by morphing from a practising doctor to a ruthless politician’s perfect wife.
When Ego returns home, the three women’s lives become entwined once more, as Nigeria’s political landscape fractures. Their shared past will always connect them, but can they – and their country – overcome it?
Travel Guide
Nigeria and London
Locations are vague but it’s the idea of two countries and two cultures that matters here. Two countries where two people of the same background live and compare living experiences.
There’s a nice mention of Nigerian cultural experiences such as the Notting Hill Carnival in London
In the story, Nigeria is a new and modern country. The three young women navigate the incessant strikes and political turmoil that surrounds them.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: We Were Girls Once
Destination/Location: Lagos, London Author: Aiwanose Odafen Departure: 1940s, 1990s
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