“If you have a family elsewhere and do not want your peace interrupted, spare a thought for a woman who feels incomplete until she sees you… I can’t wait to hug you and ask you about all the gaps in my life. I need to fill those gaps. I need closure. And you are crucial to bringing me the much-needed closure. Excerpt from the book, ‘I AM NOT YVONNE NELSON’.
At what point does one come to accept their unique journey in life? But more interesting, at what point does one gather enough courage to bear themselves out, raw and naked, to the burning furnace of society’s judgment? Yvonne Nelson, a Ghanaian self-made actress has sparked fire with revelations about her life and in so doing, she has made bold statements about the political regime of Ghana and revealed a lot about the movie industry in Ghana and Nigeria.
THE ABORTED MISTAKE
One of the first things that struck me about the author’s personality is motherhood. You could tell from the beginning how she was first a mother to herself, then a mother to her nation. She eventually became a mother to her only child, Ryn, who motivated her to be a mother to many other children by setting up a school for babies and infants. But before Ryn, was another child who never had the privilege of living. For the aborted child, the potential mother at the age of 25, thought it better to deny her the life she was ‘suffering’. A life in the absence of fatherhood. It was a fate Yvonne herself had almost suffered when her mother was six months pregnant with her. While her mother had failed, she succeeded, freeing the father, Sarkodie, of responsibilities he was not ready for.
YVONNE IS BOLD
She has been bold at love, career and the desire to make something useful out of herself. The courage with which she spurred through the movie/entertainment industry in both Nigeria and Ghana is simply commendable. For a young lady who was tasting fame and money, she was brave to be rooted in her principles even in isolation in hotel rooms and concave houses with ‘powerful men’. The fearlessness with which she presented her truth in her shot at love and marriage, draws empathy from even the most hardened hearts. If she has made enemies by her acts, this book is sure to turn them in her favour. Although for Mr Michael Owusu Addo, popularly known as Sarkodie, the case might be different.
THE LASHES
Yvonne’s assessment of the political play and what we suffer as a result of decisions taken by our leaders was not sugar-coated. Her disappointment in the management of Africa’s resources will surely touch the right nerves. She didn’t spare pompous Nigerian actors and Ghanaian men in the movie industry, especially directors who Lord themselves and derive sexual pleasure from females in the industry. I particularly love how she drew out the lavish lives Nigerians are obliged to live for society’s adulation as opposed to the culture in Ghana.
THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Yvonne has fairly answered a lot of questions and brought up new revelations. But she didn’t do that without raising new questions in the process. We know why she and her baby daddy, Jamie separated during her pregnancy. But if I recall correctly, she shared posts of them on social media that gave the assumption that she and her baby daddy were a couple. Was it one of the make-believe of a celebrity’s life? Or just a part truth she didn’t find worth mentioning in her book?
MOTHER OR NOT
Any avid fan of Yvonne would remember how she used to flaunt pictures of her mother on social media with an impression of a mother who is loving, supporting and constantly present. This book, however, tells the mother-daughter relationship narrative from the flip side of the coin. Yvonne gave her the due credit, but as a reader, I couldn’t help but feel affection drained from her recount of the years she has spent with her mother. Was the social media posts an attempt to make-believe a strong mother-daughter bond or a point in their lives where they really bonded? Or perhaps, a picture is truly just a moment out of a minute truth?
YVONNE DID NOTHING WRONG?
When she had an abortion, she had a good reason, even if she felt immense regret later. When a lot of women were conforming to the low standards of the industry where her quest to be worthy of something blossomed, her background kept her rooted. To her supposed father and her mother, to relationships that broke her, friendships that grew apart and bullies that stood her way, she was just being human with how she reacted. But isn’t that the beauty of writing one’s own story? Even the imperfect and derogatory part of us has a way of emerging as a justified truth. In the end, the perturbing question is, ‘is that all the truth there is to know or there is some saved to make headlines tomorrow?’
I WANT TO SEE YOU, MY FATHER
If nothing from the beginning of the pages in this book moved you close tears, the end definitely would. The emptiness of losing a parent, a close relative or a friend is one of the feelings that draw sympathy to bind humanity. Every string of events that weaved itself into Yvonne Nelson’s story, has all come to a point in almost 38 years of her existence where she makes a public plea for daddy.
After reading the book, one thing that came to mind was ‘Yvonne did well.’ The book is written in simple words that draw and hold the reader’s attention. Yvonne Nelson, you have done well. You have given us a brief space to live through your truth. We appreciate and admire how these events have shaped you into the woman you are.
Well done! Ayekoo!
Review by Sandra Osaa Yeboah
