Peppersoup

 
I have likely had more peppersoup in the last 3 months than I have had in my entire life put together. Why? Because when life shows you pepper in the form of recurring flus, you simply make pepper-soup. Hehe.
I got an email sometime back about a collection of short stories that had been put together by some firebrand Nigerian women and I was excited to read it.
Peppersoup is one work of fiction that left me feeling all kinds of emotions. I laughed, came near tears, felt trepidation, went to mush and then came right back to normal again. The stories speak of faith, strength in adversity, chaos, doubt, hurt, healing and new beginnings. Like your perfect bowl of peppersoup, it’s got a balance of all the right ingredients to get you all up in your feels but still keep you grounded in ‘reality’. And I say ‘reality’ because everyone’s reality is different.
If I had to pick my favourite, it would be “Doing Just Fine.” The story tugged strongly at my heartstrings but I refused to cry (because hard girl. LOL). But Doing Just Fine got to me, truly. First, the author’s style was different from the usual. Then I started out thinking I could predict the end but I was so wrong. And then the story in itself was powerful and emotional. I read it more than once.
Full Circle left me smiling through almost tears. You go through some rough patches and end up feeling like damaged goods but somehow, the storm passes, the morning comes and the sun seeps in to brighten things up again.
I won’t say any more about the other stories, go and read them for yourself. *tongue out*
In reading these stories, one thing is certain. You will see bits of your life reflected in them or the lives of people you know. And that one’s thing I loved about the book. The stories are absolutely relatable. Now while the contents of the 12 stories might be different, the underlying theme is the same- we can have happy endings, no matter how chaotic life gets.
So go get yourself a copy on Okadabooks. Actually, click this link
http://okadabooks.com/book/about/pepper_soup/13202
Read, laugh, cry, but above all, be encouraged. If life is showing you pepper right now, simply grab all the ingredients, make yourself a nice bowl of peppersoup and by all means, have the last laugh.
Enjoy the weekend!