THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICE
The Gulf Harbour Book Club met on November 3 to discuss The Girl With The Louding Voice and its sequel And So I Roar by Abi Dare. There were over 30 of us in person and on Zoom. I know I say this every month, but she was the best ever!!! She is the reason the GH Book Club is supporting Harlem Heights Foundation. For more info on the Heights Foundation and how you can help, email Geralyn Donovan at [email protected].
Joan did the author review.
Abimbola “Abi” Daré is a Nigerian author and public speaker best known for her internationally bestselling debut novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice. She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and has lived in the United Kingdom for over 18 years.
EARLY LIFE AND CAREER
• Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Daré lived there for nearly two decades before moving to the UK.
• She initially pursued a corporate career, earning multiple degrees:
A law degree from the University of Wolverhampton.
An MSc in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University.
• While working, she balanced her corporate responsibilities with writing in her spare time. Her experience as an immigrant and mother helped inform her writing.
WRITING CAREER AND ACCOLADES
• Creative Writing education: Daré earned an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London, which provided the structure and support she needed to focus on her craft.
• The Girl with the Louding Voice (2020): Her debut novel, which started as her MA dissertation, became a critical success.
It was a New York Times and international bestseller.
It won the Bath Novel Award in 2018 for unpublished manuscripts.
It was selected for the Today Show Book Club and BBC Radio 4 Book Club.
The novel is about a Nigerian teenager named Adunni who longs for an education to gain a “louding voice,” or the ability to speak for herself.
• And So I Roar (2024): Her second novel follows characters from her debut and became the inaugural winner of the Climate Fiction Prize in 2025.
OTHER ACTIVITIES AND ADVOCACY
• Public speaking: Daré is a sought-after public speaker on topics including women’s empowerment, diversity, and inclusion. She has spoken at prestigious institutions such as Harvard Business School.
• The Louding Voice Foundation: In 2023, she founded this non-profit organization, which provides scholarships and empowerment programs for young women and girls in underserved communities in Nigeria.
• Honorary doctorate: She received an honorary doctorate of letters from Glasgow Caledonian University for her contributions to literature and education.
• HER daughters are approximately 15 and 10. Her older daughter, when 8 years old, inspired her to write this book when she complained about doing chores
Abi focuses on justice and the humans behind the story. She said when having a conversation pickup on what is not said. The key to forgiveness is to forgive yourself.
Her law degree helped her so she could serve justice.
The dialect she created for Adunni as Adunni tells her story captivated us.
“Since Adunni’s goal is so clear (get an education and stay alive until she gets it) we are constantly challenged to be curious and concerned about her achieving that goal: will Big Madam beat her to death before she gets to school? Will Big Daddy rape her? Will she get the scholarship in the first place?
Given everything we’ve learned about the world and society Adunni lives in, we can safely assume that being educated won’t solve ALL her issues. Big Madam is rich and successful, but she still suffers at her douchebag husband’s hand. So, what will it mean for Adunni to get her education? Does it guarantee her a happy life? Probably not. As one of us stated during our discussion—she’d probably have to move away from Nigeria for that education to really make a difference in her life. But as we were reading this book, we knew this was her goal. And getting that scholarship meant reaching that goal, making the book end on a happily-ever-after note, when in reality it’s more of a happy-for-now type of ending.” by LIDIJA HILJE
These books are fascinating and should be a must read.
Abi created a foundation. Here is the info. I encourage you to donate.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/theloudingvoicefoundation
Otherwise, sending to our Nigerian Foundation account is also possible via Wise/ Lemfi or any of the money transfer methods:
Account details
Account name: The Louding Voice Education and Empowerment Foundation
Bank – FCMB
Account number – 2004677876
Currency – Naira
The Gulf Harbour Book Club meets on the first Monday of each month in the Fitness Center. If you want to join the Book Club email [email protected]. Zoom is available for Members if the author allows it. We had 9 authors lined up for the 2025/2026 season. We already had Kristen Harmel, Jane Yang and Abi Dare. We have the following authors on Zoom. December is Not Yours to Keep by Zelly Ruskin, January is Bernhardt Schlinke for The Granddaughter, March is Sandi Altner for Rupert’s Landing, April is Chris Torockio for The Soul Hunters and May is Stephanie Dray for A Founding Mother.
