Description
In 1772, Ayomide, a 14-year-old girl from a peaceful village in the kingdom of Benin, is torn from her homeland and cast into the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. Taken from everything she has ever known, she endures the long and harrowing journey to Guadeloupe, where the brutality of her new reality begins to unfold. Sold to one of the island’s most ruthless colonists, Ayomide is thrust into a world of dehumanization, forced labor, and relentless oppression.
In the midst of this suffering, she gives birth to a daughter, whom she names Solitude. With unwavering strength, Ayomide raises her child under the shadow of slavery, refusing to let despair extinguish the flame of hope within her. As Solitude grows, mother and daughter come to understand the depths of their captivity — and the power of their bond. Together, they stand in quiet rebellion, their spirits unbroken by the violence that surrounds them.
Beyond the plantation walls, in the thick forests of the island, the Maroons — escaped slaves who have forged lives of freedom — live in defiance of the system that seeks to destroy them. Ayomide dreams of joining them, of carving out a life on her own terms, and passing on to Solitude the most precious legacy of all: freedom.
This novel traces the childhood of a woman born into the depths of injustice, who, through courage and love, lays the foundation for a legacy that would one day inspire generations. It is the story of a mother’s resistance, a daughter’s awakening, and the enduring strength of those who refuse to be broken.
