The Wailing
“There is no greater insult than to have your death ignored.”

The Economist“Nadia, come and read this article out loud to me. Let’s hear what’s happening in the world!”
“Crêpes! Crêpes pour tout le monde aujourd’hui!”
This is the story of how we begin to remember. This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein. Did you hear that line, Nadia? Did you hear it? He is a poet, Paul Simon, a true poet.”
*
This last time, he had been in the hospital for a month. The ambulance came to take him away on a Saturday. The arrival of an ambulance was so much a part of our lives that no one woke me up to tell me. I stumbled down the stairs for breakfast as usual, half-blind without my glasses, wearing my fuzzy slippers and pajamas.
Buongiorno, signorina.”
them

NADIA OWUSU is a Ghanaian and Armenian-American writer and urbanist. Her first book, Aftershocks, topped many best book of the year lists, including Vulture, TIME, Esquire, and the BBC. It was a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice.
Nadia is the recipient of a 2019 Whiting Award. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Bon Appétit, Travel + Leisure, and others.
She is Director of Storytelling at Frontline Solutions, a Black-owned consulting firm working with social change organizations. She lives in Brooklyn.
Enter your email address to receive notifications for author Nadia Owusu
Success!
Confirmation link sent to your email to add you to notification list for author Nadia Owusu
More by this author
No One Should Have to Ignore Their Grief, Yet It’s Long Been Expected of People of Color
For our communities, those missing and murdered, caged and dying, are not distant examples, invisible, or forgotten. They are our family and friends.
Women of Color in Academia Often Work Harder for Less Respect
The racist assumption that women of color are hired as faculty because of our identities rather than our credentials can have a serious impact on our careers.
Hiring a Chief Diversity Officer Won’t Fix Your Racist Company Culture
Racial equity must be a top priority for everyone, incorporated into how a company hires, makes decisions, and approaches all of its objectives.
More in this series
Repatriation and the Pull of the Past
“I’m not naïve enough to think that becoming Austrian will make up for everything that happened to my family.”
An Immigrant Londoner in Brexit Limbo
I wasn’t born here. But I have lived here for fourteen years, and London has made me what I am.
Reaching for My Family—And My French Not-Husband
Comforting each other is more natural when we’re physically present, which is what the pandemic made it impossible for my not-husband to be.