Aiwanose Odafen: We Were Girls Once

We Were Girls Once is the sequel to Tomorrow I Become a Woman, honing in on the lives of Ego, Zina, and Eriife, the daughters of Uju, Chinelo, and Adaugo from the first book. It explores their journey of they transition from being girls to women.

Ego, who moves to the United Kingdom to further her studies but despite experiencing relative success while working in a firm, she is constantly haunted by past: familial and institutional violence and its ripple effects. Ego is a woman robbed of the joy of becoming. 

Zina is also a prisoner of the past, stuck in a tense relationship with her mother. Despite this, she is a renowned actress who is famous and publicly admired. 

Eriife whom we encounter last in consumed by the realm of political life in Nigeria. There is a loss she mourns in her personal life, which she compensates for with the pursuit of influence, power and wealth.  Despite this bubble that these things afford her, Nigeria still deals with her as harshly as it does to those far less wealthy and privileged. 

This is a profound tale of the beauty of women’s friendship, as a conduit for growth, healing and justice. Zina helps Ego confront a serious injustice in the past and in doing so find closure. Despite their differences and disappointments, they come together for Eriife in her hour of need. 

Odafen explores the themes of family, politics, community, class dynamics and religion in this book. 

Odafen’s, We Were Girls Once is an ode to the timeless strength and beauty of female friendship.