brown girl in the ring

“Brown Girl in the Ring came from a place of desperation” says Olukemi Ogunyemi. “Though my recollections are pretty harsh, the memoirs reflect my reality. All of us were in some kind of pain. People feel judged sometimes when you ask them to change something without any understanding of why they could consider doing so. If we understand things, we are more inclined to make changes” says Olukemi”.

“All of the experiences have been a learning, a deepening understanding to myself. The painful moments are deeply painful. The pain does pass and as it passes, you can understand why it's happened. This is not about accepting it. Sometimes it's just about understanding so that you can move to the next part. Struggles are where our biggest growth comes from. Then if we choose to do so, we can share our experiences and help others. “

Rays of hope focuses on how emotions and perspectives can affect our whole being and can go into a physical injury in the body. Self-love and a sense of belonging from blended communities can be healing and restorative. 

“I thought that I knew who I was as a mother and as a therapist and everything, and I wrote the book and I thought, God, who am I? Cause I didn't really know who I am. I've discovered self-worth, and that's key. If you've got self-worth, you can ask these questions” says Olukemi Ogunyemi.”

Writing Brown Girl in the Ring, a story of discovery, paved the way for Olukemi to put down on paper the pain that she didn't realise she still held. Now, she is better able to understand the reason why people would behave in the way that they behaved.