Review of Someone Birthed Them Broken by Ama Asantewa Diaka

*Someone Birthed Them Broken* by Ama Asantewa Diaka (2024). Published by Amistad.

If you’re new here and found this blog through the mysterious powers of the Internet, welcome! My name is Ashley, and I’m a dedicated reader and movie watcher who thought to turn this website into a little digital archive of sorts.

I was watching and reading so much that I wanted to keep track of it all, so I began blogging as a way to keep these books as memories somewhat forever.

That said, I recently fell into a period of unemployment, and this blog was a solace for me. Not only was it a way to make a little bit of money when there was nothing else coming my way really, but I found, after getting my finances in order, that I enjoyed sitting down to write blog posts when I had nothing else to do in my day.

I’ve been dubbing this period as funemployment while I look for a job, but the job market isn’t looking too great right now. Regardless, I spend a lot of time in my local library, and because I am such a big fan of simple living, I enjoy the little moments where I can find a book for free here or there, while also supporting such a critical aspect of my community.

One of my goals in 2025, when it comes to books, is that I want to spend more time diversifying what I’m reading. BIPOC literature has always been my focus, especially when it comes to broader Asian stories, but I’m realizing how little my local library has when it comes to African and Latinx authors.

I found this book in the new fiction section of the library, which was such a wonderful surprise. I think recently they’re becoming more aware of needing to include more African authors, as I’ve been increasingly spotting Nigerian authors. I saw the title of this book, was intrigued, read the synopsis, and then decided to read it.

I finished it in a few days, as I chose to take my time with this one, and I think that was a solid decision.

Let’s get into the review before I start rambling too much! I know intros can get a little long, and they’re not what you’re here for.

A portrait of Ghana’s youths and the problems they face in the contemporary world.

So this is a collection of short stories, and there are quite a few in this book. The total amount is thirteen, so you really get invested in the world of these characters and the issues that they’re coming across in their daily lives.

I would say something to note before jumping into these stories is realizing that they’re all interconnected in subtle ways. You might not catch the hints of how exactly they are connected, but it’s there. I was picking through the stories with a comb, so I enjoyed this small detail, but I could see how someone might miss that if they’re not close reading.

Anyways, the characters in these stories shift with each story. There’s a man who is struggling with his family’s cocoa business, and at the age of forty, he now has to manage it. His father, the patriarch and business owner, suddenly died and now it has been passed on to him, and he has no idea how to keep this place going.

In addition to that, he’s struggling with his siblings and romantic relationship, especially when his girlfriend is pregnant with his son. We then see how his son, when he’s grown up, has come into his own troubles, and then we begin seeing more about the young people these stories are focused on.

For many of these protagonists, love and romance is something that they struggle with. Whether it’s seeing two people at once or questioning whether they’re actually gay or not, these characters have a handful of problems here and there, and some are struggling with religion and violence at the same time.

The world is hard, and these characters exemplify how much harder it is to be a youth in some ways. They don’t have the same bandwidth as adults, unable to afford living on there. But as we see from the cocoa farmer story, adult shave their own complex sets of issues, and sometimes they don’t go away with age.

Storytelling is one of the main highlights of this book for me. I read afterwards, when I looked the writer up, that they are a spoken word artist. Spoken word requires a certain brand of storytelling that translates well into fiction if done right, and I think they did an excellent job translating those genres over.

I also really enjoyed the female friendships and bonds in this book as well. It was one of the highlights, as well as how honest it is about how these kids and people are struggling in their lives. As a young person myself, despite not being from Ghana, I could really sympathize with that.

Overall Thoughts

I genuinely enjoyed this collection a lot! Short story collections can be hit or miss to me, as certain stories might find themselves sticking out much more than others, but I think this collection did a solid job of holding its ground.

Many of its character are striking and stand out to me, and I found the plot to be quite memorable throughout each story. I have only read a few books here and there from Ghanaian authors, and I have been impressed with them all so far. I think this author is one to watch in the future, and I hope they get more opportunities in global publishing.

All of this is to say that you should pick this book up if you’re interested in it. Go to your local library, or purchase a copy from an indie bookstore. Support these authors while you can; it’s difficult to make a living as a writer and creative.

Follow me below on Instagram and Goodreads for more.