Chapter 1 of 5
Before the Crossing
Emmanuel Okonkwo was born in Lagos in 1941, the third of five children. His mother sold fabric at the market and sang while she worked. His father repaired radios and believed the future would be louder than the past.
Emmanuel learned English from borrowed books and learned patience from his grandmother, who told the same stories with small variations until the family corrected her gently and she laughed.
When he was twenty-two he bought a ticket to London with money saved from two jobs and a loan from his uncle. He packed a photograph of his parents and a notebook of addresses he might never use again.