How grief unlocked my creativity after 12 years of silence

Award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie has revealed that she battled writer’s block before publishing her fourth novel, ‘Dream Count’, which tells the tale of four women who experience the harsh realities of life in different facets.

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The author of ‘Purple Hibiscus’ disclosed this during an interview with Eva Jinek, a Dutch journalist and television presenter, on her talk show ‘Eva’, which airs on NPO 1 and is produced by AVROTROS.

Ms Adichie’s most recent previous work was ‘Notes on Grief’, a memoir published in 2021 and presented in 30 short sections.

The mother of three wrote the book following the death of her father, James Adichie, in June 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Widely regarded as a central voice in postcolonial feminist literature, Ms Adichie disclosed that it took her 12 years to overcome the creative block and complete ‘Dream Count.’

She said, “I don’t even like that expression, writer’s block, but I have to use it because it’s what people understand. Your brain was having a break from writing fiction. It was a break that I did not want to have, right? And it was, I mean, I can laugh about it now, but it was a very painful place to be. The foundational feeling about writer’s block for me is helplessness.

“So I would sit in front of my computer. I knew what I wanted to do, but I just couldn’t. I was blank. And that kind of blankness is very frightening. I was afraid that it would never come back. Yes, and for me, writing fiction is the great love of my life. What brought it back? My mother died, and then I started writing fiction again. I don’t, and I think there’s a connection between the two.”

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The Enugu-born author noted that, although her mother’s death was not a prerequisite for her return to writing, it played a significant role in her healing and creative renewal.’

“I don’t think that I necessarily needed my mother to die before writing, but the way that I’ve come to understand it is that my mother helped me, that my mother left, and I think that she understood the extent of the devastation that I would feel. And so she kind of guided me back into my creative self. That’s how I think.

“It feels like coming back. It feels like coming back to meet your real self. I think my real-est self is the self that writes fiction. Because in the 10 years, I was writing other things, non-fiction”, she said.

Raising good men

Additionally, Ms Adichie spoke further about raising her twin sons.

This newspaper reported in February that the author, during an interview with The Guardian, revealed she had welcomed the babies in April 2024 but chose to keep the news private.

She explained that she decided to keep the twins out of the public eye to protect them, adding that she did not want the piece to focus on them.

ALSO READ: ‘I’ve no regrets welcoming my twins through surrogacy’ – Chimamanda Adichie

She said about her intentions for raising the twins: “My boys have just been born. So right now, I’m just trying to keep them from biting each other. But when I’m not succeeding. But no, I do feel strong. I feel excited about raising boys because I know it is possible to raise good men.

“I want to be very sort of intentional about it. So I will start very early because I think the world gives young boys messages that are unhealthy for them. One of which is the idea that showing emotion is bad.”

Ms Adichie was last in the spotlight when she addressed the criticism she received after revealing that she had her twins through surrogacy, noting that her announcement sparked controversy because many believe ‘it’s wrong to rent a woman’s body.’

She shared her experience as a guest at the recently concluded inaugural edition of the ‘#WithChude Live’ concert, an event hosted by award-winning storyteller and media entrepreneur, Chude Jideonwo.