BOOK: No More Tears

AUTHOR: Atieno Mtoto Mzuri

ISBN-13: 978-1511619479

ISBN-10: 1511619473

FIRST PUBLISHED: 2015

PUBLISHER: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

LANGUAGE: English

 

No More Tears by Atieno Mtoto Mzuri

A smart and brilliant Kenyan woman is promised a good job. (Maybe better than her current) in America by a relative. Being imagined by many as the land of milk and honey, she of course is excited about the idea of her moving to the United States of America, and after saving up for the air ticket, she bids bye to her family at the airport and boards a plane to the States. Back at home everyone is optimistic that the smart woman, Atieno, will make it big in U.S.A and elevate their family’s financial and social status.

“No More Tears” is a book written by Atieno, who is the narrator. She talks about her experience in America being an immigrant from Africa who had gone to the U.S to look for greener pastures. She had hoped to land a job as she was educated, but as fate would have it, she neither landed a good job nor had the good life she had imagined. Atieno shares her experience with the white men she dated out of desperation and some whom she loved. She talks of Matt, a man who loved her so much, he was willing to do anything to be with her. He, (Matt) however was a felon, and Atieno had to rethink about her future with him. She broke up with Matt days before their wedding and went to work as a nanny for a lady known as Dionne. Months later, Atieno stumbled upon Matt’s obituary. Matt had committed suicide. His brother Jack explained to Atieno that he had jumped from the 20th floor of a building . Matt had been lonely and depressed and couldn’t take it anymore, so he decided to take his own life. Matt’s death hurt Atieno so much that for a moment there, she wished she hadn’t left him. Of all the white men Atieno had dated while in the U.S, Matt had been the only one who had loved her with all his soul.

The author completes the book when she drives away with her little daughter after she had visited Matt’s grave.

Atieno talks of her struggles, the pain and suffering she endured while still hoping that tomorrow would bring something better. She finally got a job as a receptionist. Though she didn’t earn much, she was contended with what she had.

People at home often assume that when one boards a plane to look for greener pastures abroad, their lives immediately change to be better. Not many understand that folks like Atieno, sometimes suffer before getting their lives back on track. What the author went through, is just a fraction of what many immigrants undergo. The author made me understand that being abroad doesn’t automatically mean good life. The world can be unfair sometimes. It’s a nice short book. I enjoyed every bit of it to the point of wishing there could be a sequel.

 

Side note by the author:  The characters and events in this book are based on fiction. In some cases names and places have been changed to protect the identity and the lives of those involved.