HOW TO SAY BABYLON A Memoir

Author/narrator Safiya Sinclair emphasizes the poetry of her words as she narrates her memoir. Her soft Jamaican accent sounds like gentle waves. Sinclair begins by defining "Babylon," the term that Rastafarians coined to refer to the corrupting influences of Western culture--white oppression, in particular. Her father, a musician, became a strict Rastafarian who expected women to obey the men in their lives. Early chapters describe growing up in a close-knit Jamaican family. When Sinclair reaches puberty, her rageful father turns on her and rains down abuse. She describes her terror as his beatings become a constant threat. The memoir's throughlines are Sinclair's depictions of her mother's gentle love, her siblings' tenderness, her own determination, and the poetry that grew within her. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2023]