The Nature of Shadows - Augustine Sheriff

Every so often, a memoir comes along with the power to transcend the events in an individual’s life and unite people in a collective movement of inspiration and understanding. The Nature of Shadows is such a memoir.

At the risk of painting myself too starkly into the image of Little Black Sambo or Mowgli from The Jungle Book, I was both boys: simple, dark-skinned, born in a hut in the middle of nowhere Africa. A statistic by Western sensibilities, a blip of a headline on the evening news regarding territorial skirmishes over drinking water or an isn’t-that-sad health crisis you hope someone will solve before it boards an international flight. All but forgettable.

And yet, here we are.

You, wondering how such a character from a storybook could flip the page. Me, still trying not to lose myself.

So begins the immersive, triumphant story of one discarded boy’s journey into manhood against incredible odds.

From navigating the often-corrupt Liberian political and educational system to extracting himself from his oppressor’s polygamist network at the tender age of twelve, Augustine Sheriff’s harrowing passage into adulthood was far from typical. His deeply personal account dares to go beyond the universal trials of adolescence—falling in love for the first time, the complex relationship between fathers and sons, that one surreal adventure with friends that changes everything—to a place of unsurpassed courage on his quest for belonging. And when Liberia’s bloody civil war forced young men to choose—kill or be killed—a series of strangers showed Augustine a powerful third choice: love. 

The Nature of Shadows uses the reverence and self-effacing humor for which Liberians are known to craft a rare and unforgettable coming-of-age story that bears witness to the best and worst of the human condition, no matter the continent.