Our Favourite Things.
The Story of Home in The Gambia and Sweden
One evening, as I stood by the sink chopping cucumbers, my daughter came over to interview me..
Mum whats your favourite color she said..
Purple I replied and definitely yellow too.
Red and pink, shouted Louis, from behind my legs, eager to join in..
Mine is blue.. blue and rainbow colors are the best, Ella chimmed in.
My turn? I asked, what is your favorite food?
Domoda and sushi!! Ella replied bouncing in excitement at the thought.
Chips, Soupa and köttbullar! Louis yelled out with biggest grin ever.
I laughed out loud at this intercontinental menu my kids had conjured up in a flash.
Okay, last one.. whats your favourite place? I asked quietly.
“ Where the sky fans are.. grandpa Aniels’ house with all the fruits and the park with aunty Yollie..”
Right , I smiled..how about you Louis..whats your favouirtie place.?"
“With you mama, I wanna be with you.”
In that moment Our Favourite Things was born.
I saw my kids reflecting such a big part of me.
I have many homes.
I find it easy to create new homes.
After so much travel throughout the years, I have parts of my heart in London, Paris, Lucknow, Stockholm, Khartoum, Banjul, Los Angeles and D.C.
All these places hold my memories of growth, of joy, pieces of belonging and the people I love.
Through my children’s answers to this silly game, I saw them bring their worlds together in one breath.
They too, are citizens of the world who love french fries, Gambian Domoda and quintessential Swedish meatballs.
My daughters favourite places were Gotland; the stunning island in Sweden with powerful wind turbines, Grandpa Aniels’ house in The Gambia with its millions of fruit trees, lizards and experiments she could discover with him and aunty Yollies’ park in North London.
My children are a norm of their own,
like millions of kids globally,
they will see the world through their own lens.
They will speak several languages fluently.
They will belong in several spaces simultaneously.
and that is just fine.
In fact, its more than fine.. it is brilliant.
Like Louis articulated so beautifully with all the grace and intelligence a 3 year old can have, a country or place does not determine what we call home.
The people we spend our time with, the feeling of peace and love, the feeling of being enough..that is what we define as Home.
Our Favourite Things gives you glimpse of the two worlds we call home, The Gambia and Sweden.
Each memory in the book is shared from an adult, a 6 year-old and a 3 year-old perspective, because each is important and unique in themself.
Discover with us.
Order your copy here now:
Languages available: E
nglish &
Swedish
Format: Hardback, Paperback, Ebook
Beställ din bok på Svenska här
Watch the book trailer below:
The book was created with Sawyer Cloud, an amazing artist based in Madagascar.
Her illustrations brought our story to life and we look forward to future collaborations together.
