Media Team
Renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recently shared her personal struggle with depression in a candid interview.
Speaking to CNN Africa, she revealed how the emotional turmoil nearly extinguished her passion for creative writing.
The celebrated novelist confessed: “I was battling depression—a time of profound unhappiness that lingers like an inescapable shadow. No matter how hard you try to mask it, the weight remains.”
Adichie described the paralyzing effect it had on her craft: “When fiction writing, which is your lifeblood, becomes impossible, it’s devastating. That creative block was the hardest part.”
During this challenging phase, she attempted various distractions:
“I overcommitted—accepting speaking engagements I’d normally decline, hoping inspiration would strike. But returning home empty-handed only deepened my despair.”
Literature, particularly poetry, became her refuge during this period.
“I immersed myself in beloved books and poetry. There’s healing in language, but ultimately, creativity follows its own timeline. You can only wait and hope.”
Adichie views her creative process as something transcendent:
“When stories come, it’s like communion with ancestral spirits. Now, with my new novel Dream Count, I’m in joyful conversation again—dancing with the words that eluded me for so long.”
She concluded with heartfelt appreciation: “Emerging from that darkness feels miraculous. This book’s completion, its reception—it’s surpassed even my own hopes. The journey was worth every step.”
