Author with pa*sion to uncover society’s hidden issues
From a little girl getting voices out of her head and onto a piece of paper, an author was born.
Today, Eunniah Mbabazi, a 27-year-old Nairobi-based author has four books to her name.
They include; Breaking Down (an anthology of short stories), If My Bones Could Speak (a poetry collection), When a Stranger Called (an anthology of short stories) and Kas Kazi (a novel).
Eunniah’s writing is inspired by everyday life - from those things people are so keen to hide such as pain, trauma, shame and despair.
She endeavours to tell these stories to uplift souls everywhere, sharing the beauty in brokenness and helping people understand it is okay to not be okay.
By far, her books are treasure troves for many young readers (and all cuts of life) who might need a virtual hug.
As her younger sister, Lonah Etago shares, Eunniah’s talent in writing began to manifest when they were in primary school.
Her composition books became reading materials for her younger siblings. “I was not that keen on the beginning of her writing journey, but right when we were introduced to composition writing in Class Four, her books turned out to be my referral books.
When I was in Class Eight, I came across her poetry book. By this time, she was in secondary school,” shares Lonah.
Eunniah, who comes from a medium-sized family, majorly grew up in Kakamega county. She has four siblings.
Their father, Robert Atino, friendly yet strict, is a teacher, while their mother, Rispah Auma, also a teacher, is the typical African mum, so loving yet so paranoid.
Eunniah attended St Anne’s Girls’ Primary, Mumias and later Lugulu Girls’ High School, where she completed her secondary education in 2011.
“ Although my parents might have had a huge influence on her writing skills, I cannot fully tell because she joined boarding school early.
All I remember is they could read books with my dad and discuss during the holidays.
Since reading and writing go hand in hand, this could have contributed,” shares Lonah.
She says her sister was the calm, quiet tiny girl in school. She was loved by teachers; Lonah could tell when they went for her visiting days and all they heard were praises all around.
Similarly, at home she was loved by everyone, the excuse was always “this one has been away for several months, let her feel the warmth.”
Pressing on
While her writing was compelling and engaging from as early as primary school, professionally, she started writing around 2016 when she started publishing her poems ona website called Rapando, which feautured budding poets.
This marked the beginning of her official journey into the publishing world.
“She has written four books so far: Two of which are solely authored by her; Breaking Down and If My Bones Could Speak.
For the other two, she co-authored them. My favourite book is Breaking down , because it expresses so much boldness in addressing deep issues in our society that are only swept under the carpet.
Issues such as rape, mental illness, emotional trauma, families and marriage, toxicity in relationships and self identity.
I’m indeed proud of my sister. Her achievements inspire me because I have been there from the very small beginnings that looked like a waste of time.
I have seen her take bold, yet so risky steps, some crumbled, but she never gave up.
This keeps reminding me that you are the only one who knows your dream; go after it,” intimates Lonah about her big sister’s career.
Their family has equally been there to support Eunniah emotionally and financially when they could.
Trusting her to make independent career decisions while at the same time, stepping in and supporting where they can.
Her greatest trait, as Lonah shares, is that she has always been a fast learner and this greatly helped her to maintain her growth pace.
“Eunniah grasps issues fast. She can make you feel dumb in class. This trait has helped her grow, learn new techniques to best reach her audience and still be real.
Of course this journey has not been without worries. For instance, fearing if the book would sell, especially when she touches on delicate themes that society never wants to bring to light such as rape or family conflicts, and such like uncertainities.
There are also financial constraints because writing, publishing and marketing are expensive,” Lonah says.
Happy moments
As a young author, Eunniah has many great moments. The best being when her books sell—this is because apart from the fact that it is gainful financially, the knowledge that her ink work will be speaking to souls out there is an amazing feeling.
She also enjoys book launches. These are her moments because she gets to meet and interact with fellow authors.
She finds joy in walking a journey with fresh authors because she also needed a helping hand in the earlier stages of her career.
And this, Lonah believes, is what will take Eunniah to even bigger platforms.
In the next 10 years, she envisions her sister speaking and reaching out to many through her words.
She might be a book worm and content creator, but she has that guilty pleasure they cannot pull her out of — let’s call her the shy dancer.
“Who records dance videos of herself and never want any living organism to have a look? It is only Eunniah,” laughs Lonah.
