Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's debut novel Powder Necklace is available for purchase on Amazon and at your local Barnes & Noble and Borders!!

PRAISE FOR POWDER NECKLACE
"a winning debut" - Publisher's Weekly

"diasporically delightful" - Joan Morgan, author of When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: My Life as A Hip Hop Feminist

"Far from the classic finding-your-roots story...so memorable and so surprising" - Hazel Rochman, Booklist

"absorbing and intoxicating... a charming introduction to an impressive talent" - AALBC.com

"for readers who enjoyed Edwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus" - Library Journal

"a welcome addition to the growing list of writers portraying Africa in their own authentic, indigenous voices" - Osahon Akpata, 234next.com

"Brew-Hammond's colorful descriptions of Ghana and emotionally honest style capture the reader's attention from the first page." - J.L. King, New York Times bestselling author

"A stunning absence of both white liberal guilt and black romanticization of Africa... a significant work of fiction." - Eisa Ulen, TheDefendersOnline (& Author of Crystelle Mourning)

SYNOPSIS
What happens to sheltered Lila Adjei when her mother sends her packing on an indefinite "vacation" to her unfamiliar homeland, Ghana?

Suddenly thrust into a reality that includes water shortages, petty corruption, and intense religious faith, Lila turns her shell shock into an adventure of cultural, spiritual and self discovery. But when her mother finally allows her to return to England, it becomes clear that her globe-spanning quest to find herself has only just begun.

Inspired by a true story, Powder Necklace explores what happens when cultures, generations, and powerful personalities collide – in one family. Like Zadie Smith's White Teeth, Edwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory and Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake it mingles laughter with bitterness, community with loneliness, desperate preservation of culture with the rebellious ache to assimilate in a fresh, sharp, and powerful new voice.

BIO
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond has written for AOL, Parenting Magazine, the Village Voice, Metro and Trace Magazine. Her short story “Bush Girl” was published in the May 2008 issue of African Writing and her poem, “The Whinings of a Seven Sister Cum Laude Graduate Working Board as an Assistant,” was published in 2006’s Growing up Girl Anthology. A cum laude graduate of Vassar College, she attended secondary school in Ghana. Powder Necklace is loosely based on the experience. Visit NanaEkua.com for more.