Bound by the Absence of Love

By Elena K. Njeru

22 year old Lini who has been mourning her father's death for over two years finds out she is pregnant while she is preparing to move to England. Her desire to have the baby is overshadowed by the grief for her father. Bound by the Absence of Love follows Lini as she navigates grief that intertwines generational trauma and love. It is a story of the survival of love after life shatters in several ways. Although this story is a patchwork of fragments from several true stories that are relatable, the book is a work of fiction.

I grew up seeing men drink themselves to death either by suicide or from complications caused by alcohol addiction. As a child, I saw alcoholism destroy generations of families and yet, I could not find a book that depicts mental illness, addiction, death by suicide and the complex grief thereafter in a Kenyan or African context. They say if you want to read something and you don't find it, make sure to write it. Kenyans too, kill themselves, and their families live with that grief. Even where some members of those families move abroad, they pack grief, unpack grief and live abroad with unhandled grief. I have met many such migrants, lost in between grief and their own addiction. Many of the scenes in this book have occurred in many lives and generations even though they are rarely spoken about.

Any resemblance to real life experiences, names and places is coincidental. It is probably a call to action; a reminder to offer a little more tenderness or kindness to yourself and to others - as you never know what people are surviving. Hopefully in reading this story, those whose lives are shattering and those walking through the debris of their shattered lives will find affirmation, comfort, community or enlightenment. For anyone who is part of a support system out there, I hope you will feel seen, appreciated, energized and encouraged to continue in empathy and kindness.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0B8BDNX99
• ISBN13: 9798843386924
• Release Date: August 2022
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 94 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"