A Review of Beyond Bereavement By Sunday Afolayan

A REVIEW OF BEYOND BEREAVEMENT
By
Sunday Afolayan, Chairman, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Ondo
State Chapter & Lecturer, Department of Journalism and Media Studies,
Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Nigeria

TITLE: Beyond Bereavement
AUTHOR: Kemi Kehinde-Dare
PUBLISHER: Blackgrafix Int’l Ltd., Ibadan
NO OF PAGES: 81
PRICE: Not Stated

Beyond Bereavement is a fast-paced account of hope and despair, love and pains – a story of deep affection that ended sorrowfully without notice. It is an emotion-laden narrative written in lucid prose by a young lady – Kemi, who fell in love and later got married to the desire of her heart – an enterprising young fella – Brother Niyi, with whom she shared some intimate childhood background in the same compound in Lagos, many years before their marriage.

More sadly than she could have ever imagined, what the writer thought was going to be a life-long partnership, with high hopes and expectations, suddenly crashed, leaving her broken and devastated – no thanks to the painful death of her heartthrob in a ghastly auto crash in the prime of his life; a man she described throughout the book as the joy of her life, difficult to find, painful to lose.

The story began with the account of events surrounding their wedlock and the exciting oomph and passion that followed. The reader is also made to pass through the voyage of her childhood days in her ancestral village of Oloba in Osun State under the tutelage of her father, who later got transferred to Lagos on account of dedication to duty and excellent performance as a head teacher.

It was this sojourn to Lagos that made her to meet Brother Niyi, as she fondly called him, first as one of the innocent young children leaving together in Ijaye, Lagos with other parents in different flats in the same compound, owned by Niyi’s parents.

The Yoruba adage that ogun omode ko le sere f’ogun odun – meaning “twenty children can never play together for twenty years” came to play in this scenario. For about fifteen years or so, Providence set Kemi and Brother Niyi apart only to meet again at Kogi State University, Anyingba, where they got admission to seek higher knowledge as undergraduates.

It was at this time that the duo, relishing on old innocent memories, discovered the true essence of love and fell for each other with such unbroken bond that culminated to conjugal solemnity, years after.

The events that led to their eventual marriage were like a crystal pure river flowing along an obstructive course with sweet cool fragrance of surrounding misty petals and flowers. It was a blend of feelings that promised to last through decades of great accomplishments.

During courtship and while together as husband and wife, life was all fun and conviviality. With the kind of love growing every moment, binding them together and transforming into deep assurances of endless joy, they could both literally transverse the length and breadth of the universe to fetch happiness for each other. To Kemi, there was no man with such thrill and aura. In fact, there was no alternative to Brother Niyi.

Few years after, their blissful marriage was blessed with three promising children. This journey of togetherness, however, came to an abrupt end, when as a routine, Bother Niyi embarked on an official trip on August 25th 2022. It was this twist-of-fate trip, like an albatross, that changed the narrative.

Like a smog that left its source with buoyancy and ferocity, but melted in the thin air few moment thereafter, arriving neither to any destination nor returning homewards, Bother Niyi – that ever cherished, handsome, dearly husband, loving and caring father left home but never returned. He was involved in an accident and so bid the world farewell.

This gruesome accident, as captured by this author, was so gory that it would be sheer obscenity if I begin to recast it in this review; an accident that nipped Brother Niyi’s life in the bud – throwing the family life, especially that of the writer, into excruciating pause.

In spite of the dexterity with which the author captured the bit-by-bit of the story, no reader would ever go through this book without shedding tears. Tears for the dead and tears for the family – tears that render one with broken cleavage and perplexing emotional seizure.

I also struggled many times trying to stop the flowing tears but could not as I found myself cleaning my eyes repeatedly when reading the book. Unfortunately, the eye-blinding tears are now part of the moving story that will painfully linger long in the mind of the reader.

One thing, surely, is clear about the book and the author: the book is a master piece and the author is a budding story teller with the magic wand of a master thriller.

If a woman, who was still being ravaged by the death of her loved one, out of the doldrums and conundrum of that devastating event, could compose a thrilling memoir like this, then, she promises to be a great writer if she nurtures this gift with the attention it deserves.

Interestingly, the plot structure of the storyline, though, intricately woven, is very easy to follow. Told in the first person singular, the narrative – beyond bereavement – contains many literary devices, such as suspence, allegory, images, allusions, quotes and others, making it a great read.

The sequence of events, right from the village life with such stories of fables, those mesmerizing dances, and cascading playful things that children do, memories of the city life in Lagos, those escapades of university life as undergraduates, to the more responsible marriage experiences, were carefully captured as embellishments, which added great value to the narrative.

It is also a great relief that the author provides therapeutic measures and social networking strategies in the latter part of the book. This can ultimately help people overcome their emotional trauma in the time of grief. This is the essence of medical humanities that are fast gaining ground across the globe as a way of using literature for healing purposes, especially for managing mind related sicknesses.

I salute the courage and writing prowess of Sister Kemi Kehinde-Dare for this book. I believe this book will not only be an additional voice to a few voices in this special class. It will soon and surely find acceptance in far and near places across the globe as a reference text for post trauma management and emotional reconstruction. I therefore recommend it to all, especially young adults and mature minds, whose life’s trajectory requires psycho-analytical treatment in health institutions and healing homes.

While I pray that God almighty grants Sister Kemi and the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss, I also pray for the peaceful repose of the gentle soul of Engr. Babaniyi Dare a.k.a. Brother Niyi in eternity.

Thanks for your rapt attention. God bless you all.

Afolayan is the Chairman, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Ondo State Chapter & Lecturer, Department of Journalism and Media Studies,
Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Nigeria