Prologue
Dearest Kweku,
Sometimes, I like the quiet. I enjoy it when there is no sound at all and a small silence around me. Have you ever noticed the quiet, Kweku? It is not something that I remember at home.
At home we hear everything! The cockerel’s early morning cry, the pounding of fufu, the stern words of Father Achim about our sins and shortcomings; there is never not sound. But here, in this green England, I have noticed that there are moments when you can hear nothing at all. I think it is because of the walls. I think they are thicker here. And the window holes all have glass in them, not just mosquito mesh. These things keep the noises out.
Within this quiet, Kweku, there are times that you can only hear your own heart beating.
You can hear it inside your chest, and even in the silence, you hear its cry.
Yours,
Adwoa
Letters to Kweku
'Dear Kweku, I am still here, writing to you again from the Obroni land. Please, will you accept this cassette recording letter from me?'
London, late 1970s. Like thousands of Ghanaians far from home, Adwoa doesn't write letters — she records them, her voice travelling home on cassette tapes for the whole village to gather round and hear.
But Adwoa's tapes are for one person only: Kweku, the best friend she left behind. She tells him about the cold, the grey, the strange new city. She tells him she is fine. She is always, always fine.
But some things can't be said out loud — not even alone, into a machine.
Inspired by true events, Letters to Kweku is a devastating and hope-filled story of courage, friendship and survival. The story of a girl who kept on talking, waiting and hoping, one tape at a time.
Letters to Kweku is published on 14 January 2027. Available for pre-order now!