Exclusive: Chimamanda Adichie Opens Up About Her Latest Book and Motherhood

 

Renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s latest novel, Dream Count, intricately weaves the stories of four women. Set in both the United States and Nigeria, the novel explores themes of the immigrant experience, mother-daughter relationships, societal pressures on women to marry and have children, and the complexities of late motherhood.

In an interview with Charlotte Edwards, Chimamanda opened up about the challenges she faced while writing the novel.

“I didn’t want to leave such a long gap between novels,” she shared. “When I got pregnant [with her daughter], something just happened. I had a number of years in which I was almost existentially frightened that I wouldn’t write again. It was unbearable.”

She avoided terms like “writer’s block” due to superstition but admitted to feeling disconnected from her creative self for years. While nonfiction writing came easily, it was not where her heart lay.

Following the death of her father in 2020, she struggled with writing Notes on Grief, which was published in 2021. The loss of her mother just months later deepened her sense of creative paralysis.

It was during this period of grief that Dream Count began to take shape. “And only when I was almost done did I realize, my God, it’s about my mother,” she said. “It wasn’t intentional. I’m happy that it’s not a sad book. She wouldn’t want a sad book dedicated to her.”

Chimamanda, who has a 9-year-old daughter, also welcomed twin sons, who were 10 months old at the time of the interview. Despite her public prominence, she chooses to keep her personal life private, stating that she is “very resistant” to discussing it.

With Dream Count, Chimamanda once again delivers a deeply personal yet universally resonant story, offering readers a rich exploration of identity, family, and womanhood.