Book Review: Joan Thatiah's Mad Women; True Stories of Defiant Kenyan Women

Amazon Deliveries I Love - Lancaster, April 2026

Good afternoon beautiful people,

I just finished Joan Thatiah's Mad Women: True Stories of Defiant Kenyan Women (2026) and I think we need a book club to discuss all the themes in this layered read. 

I learnt about the book on social media after seeing the author promoting it. I went straight to Amazon to get my copy, because we are all about supporting African writers (get your copy here).

I will not do an in-depth review on this post until we get a group together, but will instead give you an idea of what the book is about.

Author's Note - Joan Thatiah's Mad Women

The book follows the lives of 10 Kenyan Women who have gone through life, like really gone through life. It is an essay type book which reminded me of other African essay types I have read in the recent past: Uche Okonkwo's A Kind of Madness (read my review) and Damilare Kuku's Nearly all the Men in Lagos are Mad.

Read Nearly All The Men in Lagos are Mad by Damilare Kuku in August 2025

Interesting thing, all these books have the word "mad" in their titles: nearly all the men in Lagos are Mad, a kind of madness, mad women...is it a coincidence or is mad the way to go (pun intended) when it comes to short stories?

The opening story sets the stage in an unanticipated way, a women transporting her dead child, in a sack, on a public bus...and the 'madness' continues through out the book.

Some stories end up as success stories, while others feel like they ended before the happy ever after scene played out. The latter type got me thinking, should all stories, fictional or otherwise, have a resolution? Also who determines what the end of any story/chapter should be? The audience (who may be projecting their interpretation) or the character (who is living with the things they have accepted to live with)?

My psychology side took over when I read some of the essays, mostly the ones that read like scripts for an Intro to ACEs class. 

ACEs in clinical psychology = adverse childhood experiences. These are potentially traumatic events occurring before age 18, including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction, that affect how people 'end up' or 'navigate life'.

Reading the book at Schuylkill River Trail, Philadelphia 

Though the book is not a clinical psychology manual, it showcases the progression from onset, consequences and recovery efforts. I think this is why I want to discuss it in a group setting instead of just going a review. There is a nerve that each story touches, that needs a village to help unpack.

Finished the last chapters of Mad Women this morning - Prince Street Cafe, May 2026

I also love that each story shows us how non linear healing is, and how, to some extent, recovery is an inside job, which cannot be substituted by external achievements. 

My take away: healing is an internal, active and continuous process.

I think I want to read all Joan Thatiah's Books...I am curious about the Confessions Series

I know that this is the vaguest review ever. I really enjoyed reading this book, more so because of the themes it evoked than the story lines. I look forward to exploring more books by Joan Thatiah, and participating in a group discussion.

Until the next review,

Sending love and light,

Sitawa