The Teller of Secrets book by Bisi Adjapon

In this stunning debut novel- a tale of self discovery and feminist awakening-a feisty Nigerian-Ghanaian girl growing up amid the political upheaval of late 1960s postcolonial Ghana begins to question the hypocrisy of her patriarchal society, and the restrictions and unrealistic expectations placed on women.

Young Esi Agyekum is the unofficial “secret keeper” of her family, as tight0lipped about her father’s adultery as she is about her half-sister’ sex lives. But after she is humiliated and punished for her own sexual exploration, Esi begins to question why women’s secrets and men’s secrets bear different consequences. It is the beginning of a journey of discovery that will lead her to unexpected places.

As she navigates her burgeoning womanhood, Esi tries to reconcile her own ideals and dreams with her family’s complicated past and troubled present, as well as society’s many double standards that limit her and the other women. Against a fraught political climate, Esi fights to carve out her own identity, and learns to manifest her power in surprising and inspiring ways.

Bisi Adjapon is the author of The Teller of Secrets, originally titled Of Women and Frogs. She has written for and been featured in many publications including McSweeney’s Quarterly, Aké Review, Washington Times, Washington Post, Aljazeera, Brittle Paper and New York Times.

She founded and ran the Young Shakespeare company for four years in America, and, as an International Affairs Specialist for the US Foreign Service, she won the Civil Rights Award for Human Relations. She lives in Ghana.