Falter tells Yewande Ayoade’s story. Born into a well-known wealthy family, she seemed to have inherited a social status from her parents, especially her mum. She, however, becomes dissatisfied with her life as it is and yearning to find a purpose, decides to draw closer to God. She, however, did not anticipate the challenges on such a journey. Published in 2021, it’s the author’s fourth book.
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Although she was born into a traditional Muslim family, who hosted ileya every year, Yewande did not fully practice the religion until she was in Senior Secondary school, where she made friends with Aisha, the school’s ‘Muslim girl.’
When she graduates, she’s not convinced that what she has and knows is all there is to life. She then decides to make the life-altering decision of knowing God for herself and doing only his will, knowing she’d have to make some adjustments. Starting with small but sure steps, Yewande disconnects from her usual way of life.
“Is this how I am going to continue? Is this all that life is?! Endless parties with the same infinitely forgettable people, doing things you don’t really want to do, acquiring things you have no need for? It’s all so pointless, just like running around in circles till you drop.”
On telling her best friend, Morenike, that she would no longer attend parties with her, Morenike could scarcely understand what her friend was on about and why the passable version of the religion they practiced is no longer sufficient for her.
She also starts dressing differently, to which her mother frowns heavily at and never misses an opportunity to register her displeasure. To crown it all, Yewande insists on being addressed as ‘Habeebah,’ her Muslim name. Her brothers adjust to her new ways and respect her choices but her mother was not having it and in no time, everyone could feel the tension between them. This confuses Yewande and makes her sad many times because her mum was her closest relative and she had expected her to be happy for her.
For her Industrial Training, Habeebah moves to Ibadan and stays with her uncle, Uthman and his wife, Sherifah. The couple is quite instrumental to her growth, teaching her and answering all her questions. She grows a lot in her time with them and with each visit home, she loses more interested in her former life.
At some point in life, many people begin to wonder what the point of anything is and start looking for ways to make meaning out of life. Many people turn to faith in the all-knowing God but it’s not always a smooth sail. There’s always so much to learn as we go along.
This relatable story also touches on some issues that come with embarking on such a quest as Habeebah did. First, we see how harshly Habeebah was judged. Many times, we don’t understand people’s struggles and what they’re doing to make meaning of life so we tend to judge them. [side eye to Nike Ayoade].
We also see the friendship with her best friend suffer. In taking their faith more seriously, many people become somewhat unapproachable, making it difficult to relate with them, or even learn from them. There’s also something to be said about finding something and wanting to share it with everyone. While the intention may be good, I think it is important to understand that such things happen for different people at their own time. Pray sincerely for them instead.
“To you be your religion, and to me mine.”
With Sherifah, we see that serving God does not exempt us from certain struggles in life but we are promised that we will not be alone at such times. No matter how long it takes, help always comes. This, I leave with you.
I enjoyed reading this book a lot and I recommend it, especially for young women.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Kindly leave a comment.
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