Author Jane Igharo is back with her sophomore release. We recently spoke with her about The Sweetest Remedy.
Tell us about The Sweetest Remedy.
The Sweetest Remedy is about a woman, Hannah Bailey, who travels to Nigeria to attend the funeral of the father she never knew. While there, she meets her family for the first time, some who accept her and some who think she doesn’t belong. She also meets a love interest who helps her to see herself in a new light. At the same time, Hannah discovers a lot about who she is and who she wants to be.
What inspired you to write this novel?
One of my favorite Nollywood movies, Chief Daddy. It’s about the death of the patriarch of a wealthy and prominent family in Lagos. I loved how the family members—all with big personalities—came together for the funeral. It was chaotic, funny, and heartfelt. The movie just really stuck with me, and I thought it would be cool to put a spin on it and make it my own.
Do you relate to the heroine, Hannah, in any way?
Not entirely. But the one thing we have in common is that we’re both writers.
What was your favorite part of writing the book? What was your biggest challenge?
I really enjoyed writing the characters. They were all so different, and getting into their heads was a lot of fun. The biggest challenge was understanding Hannah’s insecurities and weaknesses and trying to make them believable. This was often challenging because I didn’t relate to Hannah’s insecurities as I did with the main character in my debut novel, Ties That Tether. It took a few rounds of edits to truly understand Hannah as a character.
What do you hope readers will take away from reading The Sweetest Remedy?
I hope The Sweetest Remedy will entertain readers and introduce them to an aspect of Nigeria they might have been unaware of.
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