Transcendent Kingdom: A novel
Yaa Gyasi's stunning follow-up to her acclaimed national best seller Homegoing is a powerful, raw, intimate, deeply layered novel about a Ghanaian family in Alabama.
Gifty is a sixth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after an ankle injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her. But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family's loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive.
Transcendent Kingdom is a deeply moving portrait of a family of Ghanaian immigrants ravaged by depression and addiction and grief—a novel about faith, science, religion, love. Exquisitely written, emotionally searing, this is an exceptionally powerful follow-up to Gyasi's phenomenal debut.
In the highly acclaimed novel "Transcendent Kingdom" by Yaa Gyasi, we are introduced to Gifty, a brilliant Ghanaian-American neuroscientist whose life is deeply intertwined with her family's history of addiction and mental illness. The story begins in Alabama, where Gifty is working on her PhD while struggling to come to terms with the death of her brother, Nana, who battled drug addiction. As Gifty delves into her research on addiction and the brain, she finds herself haunted by memories of her troubled past and her family's deep-rooted trauma.
Through Gifty's eyes, we witness the complexities of a family grappling with addiction, mental illness, and the weight of their past. Gyasi masterfully weaves together Gifty's scientific explorations with her personal narrative, exploring the intersection of faith, science, and the search for meaning in the face of loss. As Gifty's research progresses, she begins to question the boundaries between science and spirituality, leading her on a journey of self-discovery and healing.
"Transcendent Kingdom" is a captivating and thought-provoking novel that delves into the complexities of family, addiction, and the human desire for transcendence. Gyasi's powerful storytelling and lyrical prose bring Gifty's struggles and triumphs to life, creating a deeply moving and unforgettable reading experience. This novel is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary literature, African-American culture, or the human condition.
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