Pride and Joy cover art

Pride and Joy

A Novel

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About this listen

 Perfect for “fans of dark, laugh-out-loud family dramas” (Bust magazine), this is a heartwarming and hilarious novel about three generations of a Nigerian Canadian family grappling with their matriarch’s sudden passing while their auntie insists that her sister is coming back.

Joy Okafor is overwhelmed. Recently divorced, a life coach whose phone won’t stop ringing, and ever the dutiful Nigerian daughter, Joy has planned every aspect of her mother’s seventieth birthday weekend on her own.

As the Okafors slowly begin to arrive, Mama Mary goes to take a nap. But when the grandkids go to wake her, they find that she isn’t sleeping after all. Refusing to believe that her sister is gone-gone, Auntie Nancy declares that she had a premonition that Mama Mary will rise again like Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.

Desperate to believe that they’re about to witness a miracle, the family overhauls their birthday plans to welcome the Nigerian Canadian community, effectively spreading the word that Mama Mary is coming back. But skeptical Joy is struggling with the loss of her mother and not allowing herself to mourn just yet while going through the motions of planning a funeral that her aunt refuses to allow.

Filled with humor and flawed, deeply relatable characters “so rich in heritage and complexity that I can’t believe these characters do not really exist” (Jesse Q. Sutanto, national bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties), Pride and Joy will draw you in as the Okafors prepare for a miracle while coming apart at the seams, praying that they haven’t actually lost Mama Mary for good, and grappling with what losing her truly means for each of them. African American Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Women's Fiction Funny Heartfelt Witty

Critic reviews

"Yinka Ladeinde elevates a delightful story to new heights with impeccable comic timing and her ability to convey a wide range of characters...[She] transforms this unique multigenerational story into an unforgettable listening experience.'
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No shade to the author but it was a very slow burn and very anti climactic. I understood the themes about family, relationships and culture but it was much focused on one aspect of the story for the most part. One thing that was quite irritating was the performer was mispronouncing a lot of words and the cadence wasn’t right. Just my opinion though but I will say that I do like the themes that were weaved into the overall story.

Not that great

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