For Benin, I read Angelique Kidjo’s memoir Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music. What an uplifting, inspiring book!

I knew literally NOTHING about Kidjo when I chose her memoir for my Read Around the World quest, but I’m so glad this was my Benin book. For starters, Kidjo is an incredible musician. Before picking up her memoir, I had never heard any of her musi, so I decided to listen to a few songs just to give myself some context for the book. I fell in love with her music while listening to the first song iTunes suggested. It’s the sort of music than resonates inside my soul. My musical horizons have stagnated for the past, well, couple of decades (holy shit, I’m old) and it is so refreshing to have this new bitching musician in my life.

Kidjo covers a lot of ground in her memoir: her childhood in Benin; her escape from communist Benin to France; her musical studies; her career’s trajectory; the inspiration behind various albums; and her work as an advocate for children and women in Africa.

I’m sure any Kidjo fans will love this book, but you don’t have to be familiar with her music to learn from her life. As an ambassador for UNICEF, Kidjo has traveled throughout Africa, and her memoir does an amazing job of explaining the issues that face the continent. But even while discussing important issues like female genital mutilation, Kidjo also conveys her passion for Africa.

Her passion is contagious. I’ve never really felt connected to Africa, but by the time I finished this book, I fully embraced Kidjo’s belief, “That were all a part of Africa because humanity was born there.” Spirit Rising, pg. 221.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. There are more than 50 countries in Africa, and this book provided an excellent foundation for the reading I’ll be doing on this quest.