Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman's Journey Through Depression
Ghana

Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman's Journey Through Depression

by Nana-Ama Danquah

Mental Health Non-Fiction Memoir 1998

Summary

At twenty-two, Nana-Ama Danquah becomes a mother while struggling with a depression she cannot bring herself to name. Expected to embody the strength and resilience demanded of Black women, she hides her suffering behind silence until it threatens to overwhelm her life. Through therapy, friendships with other women facing similar struggles, and a painful confrontation with childhood trauma, Danquah begins to understand the roots of her despair. Both deeply personal and culturally revealing, this groundbreaking memoir challenges the stigma surrounding mental illness and questions why some women are expected to care for everyone else while suffering alone.

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Country
Ghana
Africa
About the author
Nana-Ama Danquah
Nana-Ama Danquah

Nana-Ama Danquah is a Ghanaian-born American writer, editor, journalist, and essayist whose work explores identity, migration, race, and mental health. Born in Accra, Ghana, she moved to the United States as a child and grew up navigating the complexities of cultural belonging. Her acclaimed memoir, Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman’s Journey Through Depression (1998), challenged the stigma surrounding depression in Black communities and brought attention to the emotional struggles of women expected to remain strong in the face of adversity. Danquah has also edited several influential anthologies, including Becoming American, Shaking the Tree, and The Black Body, amplifying voices often underrepresented in mainstream literature. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Bennington College and has worked as a political speechwriter, including for Ghanaian president John Dramani Mahama. Her writing has appeared in publications such as The Washington Post, Essence, and The Los Angeles Times.

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Details
Published
1998
Author
Nana-Ama Danquah