Tag: sweden

Travel writer, photographer, and best-selling author Lola Akinmade Åkerström's debut novel, In Every Mirror She's Black, is an arresting read for anyone looking for insight into what it means to be a Black woman in today's world. Told through the perspectives of three women as they navigate a foreign country, In Every Mirror She's Black is fast-paced, richly nuanced, and accessible. ABOUT THE BOOK Lola's book, In Every Mirror She's Black, is an arresting debut for anyone looking for insight into what it means to be a Black woman in the world. Three Black women are linked in unexpected ways to the same influential white man in Stockholm as they build their new lives in the most open society run by the most private people. Successful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi is lured from the U.S. to Sweden by Jonny von Lundin, CEO of the nation's largest marketing firm, to help fix a PR fiasco involving a racially tone-deaf campaign. A killer at work but a failure in love, Kemi's move is a last-ditch effort to reclaim her social life. A chance meeting with Jonny in business class en route to the U.S. propels former model-turned-flight-attendant Brittany-Rae Johnson into a life of wealth, luxury, and privilege—a life she's not sure she wants—as the object of his unhealthy obsession. And refugee Muna Saheed, who lost her entire family, finds a job cleaning the toilets at Jonny's office as she works to establish her residency in Sweden and, more importantly, seeks connection and a place she can call home. Told through the perspectives of each of the three women, In Every Mirror She's Black is a fast-paced, richly nuanced yet accessible contemporary novel that touches on important social issues of racism, classism, fetishization, and tokenism, and what it means to be a Black woman navigating a white-dominated society. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström is a Sweden-based award-winning travel author and photographer who has photographed and dispatched from 70+ countries. Her work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure, Travel Channel, Adventure.com Magazine, AFAR, Lonely Planet, and many more. She has collaborated with high profile commercial brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Dove, Intrepid Travel, and National Geographic Channel. She is the 2018 Bill Muster Travel Photographer of the Year and her photography is represented by National Geographic Image Collection. She is a contributing photographer at National Geographic Traveller UK and Adventure.com. Connect with Lola on Twitter here. WATCH THE PRESENTATION