Award-winning Photographer, Travel writer and Author of ‘Bitter Honey’ ‘In Every Mirror She Is Black’ and ‘Everything Is Not Enough’, Fola Akinmade Åkerström, has revealed why her fiction works focus on black women and Afro diaspora experiences.
The Nigerian Swedish multi-artiste who spoke at a Book Reading of her latest novel ‘Bitter Honey’ at the Swedish Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, said there are little to no stories that highlight black women’s voices or afro diaspora experiences, particularly in Sweden and the Nordic region.
Åkerström who left Nigeria for America in her teens, lived and travelled the world as a photographer and travel writer before settling in Sweden with her Swedish husband and children.
“As a black woman, I felt that there isn’t a lot of literature that focuses on the Afro-diaspora in the Nordic area. That is why I write about it.”
According to Åkerström, there is a strong Afro-diaspora community in the Nordic region – more so – the Gambian, Somalian and Eritrean communities. Although there is a Nigerian community in the region, there are lesser in number to what one’d find in the UK, US and other countries. Hence, it makes sense to center her work around the community that is most accessible.
Additionally, she had referenced ‘Bitter Honey’ in her 2021 novel ‘In Every Mirror She Is Black’, with the character Tobias – who reappeared in Bitter Honey as the protagonist (Nancy’s) son, a Gambian who had a child with her Swedish professor.
For Åkerström,besides faith and spirituality, community is a major grounding force for minorities in foreign climes.
As a survival strategy, some black people prefer not to associate with any community, particularly coming off a society – where there’s baldfaced racism, compared to the much quieter and peaceful Nordic region.
She, however, compares minorities in foreign climes without communities to ‘holding one’s breath underwater’. Sooner or later, one has to resurface for air, otherwise they would drown. The drowning manifests in the form of depression, loneliness, etc. experienced by the black/Afro diasporans as represented in ‘Bitter Memory’, that unaddressed, has destructive consequences.
While a community may not offer everything one needs, as people tend to gravitate towards each other for superficial reasons like skin colour, its upside is their shared experience.
“You are all going through the same experiences, even though you have different values, backgrounds or bring different things to the mix. That is how community grounds you.”
A remarkable quality of the Åkerström, is the authenticity of the culture and expressions conveyed in her stories. In ‘Bitter Honey’, she interviewed friends in the Gambian community, researched Mandinka and Wolof languages, and studied phrase books on both languages to apply in the story. She further consulted Gambian Beta Readers to ensure proper situating of the culture.
“They’d say, “We wouldn’t say it this way because we are Muslims, but there is a Christian tribe in the Gambia that says this in this way. So, I made the protagonist’s (Nancy) father marry a Christian from that tribe. Thus, Nancy became a Christian like her mother, while her brother is a Muslim like her father. Then, because the father married across religion, I made him very affectionate with Nancy. They have a good relationship because he is open-minded. That is how to take cultural feedback and really elevate a story.
While none of her characters are molded after her, readers can find bits and pieces of Åkerström in her novels. This include her strong faith – which she brings into the story with the phrase ‘I serve a God of miracle’ and her open-mindedness, her preference of Cardamom Bun over Cinnamon Bun in scenes where characters argued about both.
“These are the things that make the story richer, when you pull from your life; and I am grateful to have lived the life I have.”
Cluing in readers to her next book, Åkerström hinted that it would feature her love and experience in travel writing.
“The clue to my next book, still a fiction, is about a travel writer. I have travelled quite a bit, stayed in places like Fiji, Greenland, Mongolia etc. being able to pull all of that into a story, makes it very authentic.”
Åkerström started out as a visual artist, before transiting to photography and travel writing, winning several awards like Conde Nast Traveler’s ‘Most Powerful Woman in Travel’, Bill Muster’s ‘Travel Photographer of the Year’, and winner 2023 Pathfinder Prize as ‘Expedition Leader for In Tete Footsteps: A Cultural category.’ She returned to her first love fiction writing in 2021 with ‘In Every Mirror She Is Black’ which was nominated for the NAACP Award and the Pushcart Prize. It was followed by ‘Everything Is Not Enough’ (2023), and ‘Bitter Honey’ (2025).
