My Name Is Why

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In 1967, a young Ethiopian woman who was studying in England gave birth to a baby. Not long after, she returned to her native country alone. So it was that at the age of 12, Sissay found himself removed from the Greenwood home and shunted around care facilities where staff were disinterested in their charges. During this time his behaviour became erratic as he struggled to consolidate his self-image in the face of indifference from some quarters and outright hostility from others. One gets the heavy sense of a soul adrift without any of the grounding that family and shared history can offer. As Sissay observes: The general book club questions below work just as well for a mystery with an unexpected twist, historical fiction, memoirs of interesting people, or even a scientific non-fiction book. What Makes a Good Book Discussion Question?

Some of the best book club books are those that deal with topics or situations that are extreme. Consequently, members may have strong reactions to some of the content. The book club questions below can guide your group through a meaningful discussion about almost any book. 1. How did the book make you feel? Which character was most like someone you already know? How did that affect your perception of the character? Discussed Norman with Miss Jones, who has quite a pathetic attitude towards the child, purely based on his colour – see recent school report where she refers to him as a Ray of Sunshine – she sees his colour as his cross to bear – hopefully the staff attitude in his new school will be more realistic.As Sissay tumbled towards adolescence things appeared to deteriorate. He had been conditioned to feel that his birth mother had rejected him (something that is provably incorrect) and it seemed his foster parents were building themselves up to do the same, much to his bafflement. For Sissay’s reminiscences are of a normal enough childhood – the small misdemeanours, familial arguments – and yet in the eyes of the Authority and of Mrs Greenwood his actions were viewed in quite a different light:

This memoir details Lemn Sissay’s years from his first foster family, then being moved around to different homes. On the way he tries to discover his identity. Name changes, parentage and roots all feature in the book and lemn Sissay’s mission is to uncover all the secrets that the government had hidden from him. It seems that one of the many plights of being a foster children is having to go on this arduous journey of finding yourself, finding out who you are, because it's been stripped away from you. Is there a way to make it a smoother process for young children coming up in the system now? Sissay relies heavily on original documents (both from his social worker and others) to chart his 'progress' (rather, descent) through the fostering system. His own memories and self-analysis run alongside these official reports; sometimes he offers personal reminiscences to fill in the blanks of the official reports, sometimes he offers explanations or contradictions. His poetry (a quatrain at the beginning of each chapter) punctuates the narrative and becomes an allusive reference to his emotions. From a metaphysical perspective, when hearing your name, you are essentially tapping into the realm of spirit through clairaudience, through your Throat Chakra, the energy center that allows you to hear in spirit and receive messages of guidance.When we discuss fiction with our friends, we not only immerse ourselves deeper in the story, we learn a lot about our friends. Here are some questions to help facilitate that experience. My mother just came to [England] and found herself pregnant and I was stolen from her. In Ethiopia right now they do not allow international adoptions to happen anymore. There is no land grab in Ethiopia for children, it has stopped because it became so vile, so offensive and ugly. Hotels would be filled with desperate [western] couples taking children, with parents in Ethiopia thinking that their children would be returning to them one day. The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed is himself an adopting parent. When the leader of a country both stops international adoption and adopts himself, you know that you're in good hands and you know that the administration is seeing something ugly. Whether or not you receive the deeper messages available to you in that moment, know that hearing your name is a connection with something beyond physical reality and signifies that you do indeed have the ability to hear in the higher realms of spirit. Sissay's television appearances include The South Bank Show and the BBC's series Grumpy Old Men. As a radio broadcaster he makes documentaries for the BBC. He is a regular contributor on BBC Radio 4's programme Saturday Live, which in 2008 was nominated for two Sony Awards. He also contributes to the BBC's Book Panel.