In 1991 when I left my village in Burkina Faso and came to the West. Already I was trailing a huge elephant called "Failure." The simple fact of leaving behind the security and support of the village can be understood as a fall from grace. Life away from my community for more than a decade has also been a great challenge, and I have experienced many crashes. The collapse of an intimate relationship, and the loss of a brother and beloved uncle have been, perhaps, the most significant of these. Even now, as I complete this book, I am aware of how far I have fallen from the grace of my cultural roots. For many generations the wisdom of my village was preserved by a strictly oral tradition, and from this an encroaching world has persuaded me to break away. . . .

We are in a continuous process of rebuilding ourselves.

Sobonfu E. Some, Falling Out of Grace