About this book:

There is something special and unique about being part of a writer's first book. One can compare it to being a midwife at the time of delivery. You witness the pain and then the joy of bringing on new life.

Poetry can be universal while being intensely personal. This is reflected in some of the poems in this collection which seem quite autobiographical but that is the genius of the poet because she has managed to turn her powers of observation, recollection and creativity into a book that dares us to cross the frontiers that mark the limits of our existence. She taps into the societal consciousness and emerges with personal stories of joy and pain, love and hate, mirth and misery. She becomes our representative and compels us to read her poems and see ourselves. For each poem that says 'I', we should see not the author but ourselves.

Nkechy's poetry can be deceptively simple but 'simple' is the most difficult thing to achieve in literature. She weaves her enchanting lyricism through love - gained and lost - to war, and peace and family and back again. She questions our deeply held beliefs, celebrates our humanity and challenges our lives' priorities. It won't be fair to saddle the reader with my personal choices but suffice it to say that for every type of reader that opens this book, there is a frontier of discovery and sometimes, surprise, lurking on each page.