I Am Because We Are by Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr

I Am Because We Are by Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr

In this innovative and intimate memoir, a daughter tells the story of her mother, a pan-African hero who faced down misogyny and battled corruption in Nigeria. 

Inspired by the African philosophy of Ubuntu -- the importance of community over the individual -- and outraged by injustice, Dora Akunyili took on fraudulent drug manufacturers whose products killed millions, including her sister.

A woman in a man's world, she was elected and became a cabinet minister, but she had to deal with political manoeuvrings, death threats, and an assassination attempt for defending the voiceless. She suffered for it, as did her marriage and six children. 

I Am Because We Are illuminates the role of kinship, family, and the individual's place in society, while revealing a life of courage, how community shaped it, and the web of humanity that binds us all.

CHIDIOGO AKUNYILI-PARR is a Nigerian Canadian writer, consultant, and speaker based in Toronto and the founder of She ROARs, a community committed to unleashing the full potential of women of colour around the world. Her work is focused on impacting global narrative with the power of stories founded on the humanist African philosophy of Ubuntu, which celebrates our shared humanity. She is also a World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow. I Am Because We Are is her first book.