Praise Song For The Butterflies
Bernice L. McFaddenSpanning decades and two continents, Praise Song for the Butterflies will break and heal your heart.
"McFadden’s talent is apparent in her presentation of the community’s acceptance of a child’s disappearance... McFadden’s innocent girl child’s journey through trokosi, insanity, rehabilitation, and forgiveness to reach a point of self-awareness and strength — is a literary treasure." - Tony Lindsay, African American Literature
Abeo Kata lives a comfortable, happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the Katas’ idyllic lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, Abeo’s father, following his mother’s advice, places her in a religious shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as religious atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall Abeo for the fifteen years she is enslaved within the shrine. When she is finally rescued, broken and battered, she must struggle to overcome her past, endure the revelation of family secrets, and learn to trust and love again.
"The novel has a timeless quality; McFadden is a master of taking you to another time and place. In doing so, she raises questions surrounding the nature of memory, what we allow to thrive, and what we determine to execute. Praise Song for the Butterflies is a cautionary tale with a cruel twist... Despite the novel’s spare style and storyline, there is fleeting joy and relief..." - Tina McElroy Ansa, Los Angeles Review Of Books
In the tradition of Chris Cleave’s Little Bee, Praise Song for the Butterflies is a contemporary story that offers an educational, eye-opening account of the practice of ritual servitude in West Africa.