Motherhood

When contemporary Irish poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa discovers the extraordinary work of eighteenth-century poet Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, she becomes captivated by the woman’s life and the grief that inspired her most famous poem. After discovering her husband’s murdered body, Eibhlín drank his blood and composed a devastating lament that would survive for centuries. Determined to recover the details of a life that history has largely erased, Ní Ghríofa embarks on a literary investigation that becomes deeply intertwined with her own experiences of pregnancy, motherhood, and domestic life. Moving between past and present, A Ghost in the Throat blends memoir, literary criticism, and historical research to explore female creativity, the silencing of women’s voices, and the intimate connections that can form between women separated by centuries. It is a lyrical meditation on grief, desire, motherhood, and the transformative power of discovering another woman’s story.

Set in Nigeria during the 1980s and 1990s, Stay with Me tells the story of Yejide and Akin, a young couple whose passionate love is gradually tested by family expectations, infertility, and devastating secrets. Having met and fallen in love at university, Yejide and Akin agree that polygamy has no place in their marriage. But after four years together without a child, pressure from Akin’s family becomes unbearable. His relatives eventually arrange for him to take a second wife, believing that another woman might succeed where Yejide has not. Humiliated and desperate to save her marriage, Yejide becomes increasingly determined to conceive. As the couple struggle with fertility treatments, traditional remedies, and the demands of their families, their relationship begins to unravel. Decisions made out of fear and desperation lead to betrayal, grief, and consequences neither could have imagined. Meanwhile, political unrest and military upheaval provide a backdrop to their deeply personal struggles. Told through the alternating perspectives of Yejide and Akin, the novel explores the painful intersection of love, marriage, and cultural expectations. Adebayo examines how the pressure to become parents can shape a person’s identity, how secrets can destroy even the closest relationships, and how grief changes the meaning of family. Ultimately, Stay with Me is a moving story about the sacrifices people make for love and the complicated ways they attempt to protect one another from heartbreak.

Set in Soviet-occupied Latvia between 1969 and 1989, Soviet Milk tells the story of three generations of women whose lives are shaped by political oppression, emotional isolation, and the struggle for personal freedom. At its centre is a talented young gynaecologist who refuses to accept the restrictions imposed by the Soviet system. After a professional conflict with the authorities, she loses the career she has worked towards and is sent to practise medicine in the Latvian countryside. Increasingly withdrawn and unable to find meaning in her life, she struggles to connect with her daughter, who grows up feeling the weight of her mother’s unhappiness. The story alternates between the voices of the mother and daughter, revealing how political repression reaches into the most intimate corners of family life. While the mother retreats into despair, the daughter searches for understanding, belonging, and hope, finding emotional stability in the care of her grandmother. As Latvia approaches the restoration of its independence, the women’s personal struggles become intertwined with their country’s desire for liberation. Through its portrayal of a fractured mother-daughter relationship, Ikstena explores how authoritarian systems can damage individual lives across generations. Yet the novel also celebrates the resilience of women, the sustaining power of familial love, and the possibility of breaking free from inherited suffering.