Review: Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire

 

I was drawn to this book due to the cover's title and image. It is a collection of poems written by a Somali British immigrant woman. Her poems detail what it was like growing up as an immigrant, paying a lot of attention to the impact immigration had on her parents. Upon doing some research on her, I found that she wrote another collection of poems Teaching My Mother HowTo Give Birth which I have been wanting to read. 

The impact of immigration is becoming a topic much more examined. Children of immigrants are becoming adults in much larger numbers than before. Specifically children of non-Western immigrants or of immigrants fleeing violence. Her parents' trauma impacted her. It also deals with the violence of her home in Kenya. She talks about sexual assault and the difficulties women face. She talks about her father's difficult experiences. 

For people who enjoy poetry, especially those that like Rupi Kaur, this is a worthwhile collection of poems to read. I plan to read her other works and look forward to future writing. 

As always please look into the content warnings. This work delves into sensitive topics as mentioned above. I recommend StoryGraph for a full list of content warnings as provided by other readers.