Greetings,

There are a few new faces since starting this newsletter, so I wanted to re-introduce myself. My name is Princess, and I am the author of the forthcoming novelette thoughts on grief, which marks the years since my brother’s Prince passing. This will be self-published through my boutique imprint Curious Monarch Press. I have been guided along this process by my mentor and author Kern Carter who is currently with Scholastic.

Some of my new readers include colleagues from King’s College London (KCL). I had the privilege of leading the delivery of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu issue a few years ago and was honoured to cover his life. I have also worked as a contributor at Thrive Global and HuffPost.

I love words—how they bring about a sense of connection with others globally and their power to change the world. To that note, I appreciate that some readers from KCL are involved with Ghanaian literature; this is very exciting as my brother and I are first-generation Ghanaian-Canadians. I believe my brother and I are the result of the many of the Ghanaian migrants who came to Canada in the 1980s amidst political upheaval and coups.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Notes on Grief by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I believe it is valuable to see how those in the diaspora mourn—which traditions are kept and what is changed. I find that with grief, Ghanians often try to move on quickly or avoid discussing grief which I don’t always find the most helpful.

My brother and I had both spent some time in care before living with relatives, which informs parts of my writing around identity and belonging, which I sometimes felt displaced around. He was my best friend, and together we explored open-world environments through gaming and anime. We both shared a knack for adventure.

With Prince’s death I experienced a reckoning. Though I am much better now, I appreciate I can now articulate the challenges I faced at the time.

Please do read and encourage others to subscribe to my newsletter—there will be plenty of engagement opportunities.

Thanks for following and reading,
Princess

"Pretty intense life experiences. It's very good so far." – Lina Smith, Founder of True Image Fitness

"I really appreciated this piece of work; it is quite lovely and very expressive of the state of grief." – Hugh Barker, Editor (Bloomsbury, Ebury)

Chai & Chat – 8 July – I will promote thoughts on grief and also discussing my experience in care with staff of York Region Children’s Aid Society.

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