The Door of No Return is the saga of an African family. I could not have written it if it weren’t for the love and support and strength of my own: Stephanie, your thoughts and suggestions and ideas and soul are all over this book, as they are with everything I’ve ever written, so this is as much your story as it is mine: Medase. Nandi, you have been the progenitor of my creativity since my first book, and whether near or far, that will always be… There’s an African proverb that says, We desire to bequeath two things to our children; the first one is roots, the other one is wings. Samayah, for all the weeks I was away at a writer’s retreat figuring this story out, or the days I was sequestered in my studio writing, or the nights I couldn’t play cards because I was rewriting, I can only hope that this story was worth it, that it has wings. Because I wrote it for you, and your friends, and their friends. So y’all can fly.

Kwame Alexander

London, England

January 2022

TWI GLOSSARY

Twi is one of two languages (the other is Fante) of the Akan, a large ethnic group inhabiting southern Ghana. The Asante people are a part of the Akan, and they speak Twi. The Twi alphabet is made up of twenty-two letters. Out of these, twenty are found in the twenty-six-lettered English alphabet. The two letters ɛ and ɔ are the only ones that you’ll find in Twi but not in English. There are some words that use these two letters that I’ve modified for pronunciation.

Aboa means “animal” or “beast.”

Agoo means to “pay attention” or “Do you hear me?” The response is always Ame, which means you are “willing to listen” or “Yeah, I hear you!” The literal translation is to “build together.”

Akwaaba means “welcome,” as in to greet someone when they arrive at your house or in your country.

Ayiye means “funeral.”

The literal translation of Bayere is “yam.” I chose it as the name of the Kings Festival because the people of Kwanta are celebrating the harvest of the yam.

The Benda is a historical unit of weight of the Asante people for measuring gold dust.

Chale is a popular term of endearment used when addressing a friend, like “What’s up, bro?” or “Girl, don’t be late!”

Chay chay koo-lay is the pronunciation of a Ghanaian children’s song, “Kye Kye Kule.” My mother used to sing it with me and my siblings when we were kids.

Cowrie shells were used for centuries as currency in Africa.

Daabi means “no.”

Dondo is the hourglass-shaped talking drum that is played while held under the arm. It has other names in different regions of Africa. For example, it’s called the tama in the country of Senegal. Another drum played in Ghana is the dundun.