Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - Transcendent Kingdom

Transcendent Kingdom beautifully weaves science, religion, and the struggles with grief and addiction. We follow Gifty, a woman who is nearing the end of her PhD in neuroscience, focused on addiction research. In her lab she experiments with mice, making them addicted to Ensure and then testing to see which neurons are responsible for that behavior. At home, she cares for her mother who is in a deep depressive state. Her brother, Nana, died from a drug addiction that started from an OxyContin prescription after an ankle injury, so her research is very much tied to trying to understand why and how her brother became addicted and why he couldn't get out of that toxic cycle. To add to the complexity of this story, there is the religious background that Gifty grew up in. Her mother is deeply religious and instilled that belief in her from childhood. Gifty has journals filled with letters to God as she tried to process what was happening to her family when she was a child.

All in all, this book is beautiful and heartbreaking. The ways that Gifty's family came together and broke apart are handled so carefully and tenderly that I was able to go through it with Gifty while maintaining a safe distance from that pain. I appreciate Gyasi's writing a lot and so far, both of her books have been excellent in my eyes, she's becoming an auto-buy author for me. I highly recommend this book but do check out the content warnings since it can be a difficult read for multiple reasons.

Content Warnings

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

4 ⭐ CW: substance use/discussions of addiction, overdose, suicide attempt, depression, racism, racial slurs, grief

Transcendent Kingdom is the second novel by Yaa Gyasi, and is literary contemporary fiction. I'm not usually a big fan of contemporary stories, but I love the way Gyasi writes. She lays out her ideas in clear ways, but never tries to shape the reader's view, instead she lets us come to our own conclusions. Though it is a sad story, it wasn't a tear jerker for me, mostly because I think Gifty isn't a crier.

We follow Gifty, the daughter of a Ghanian immigrant mother, who is living in Alabama. Gifty narrates the story of how her mother came to America, the hardships they encountered as Black folk in the south, and the tragedies that followed. We go between Gifty's childhood and her present, where she is a PH.d student at Stanford studying neuroscience. We see how Gifty's upbringing in the church has affected her, as well as her brother's overdose, and her mother's depression.

This book is an examination of identity, religion, addiction, and how science and religion are both diametrically opposed to one another, but has also shaped Gifty's approach to life. As someone who grew up with Christianity and later left it behind, it was fascinating seeing Gifty's transition from being a serious Christian to doubting religion, the church, and losing her faith. Though Gifty no longer truly believes, it has still shaped her outlook on life and her approach to science.

If you liked Homegoing, this is a must read!

Content Warnings