Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s <i>Bitter-Sweet</i> and Funso Adegbola’s <i>He Gave Me Wings</i>

Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13

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Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings

Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 9, Issue 5)

Received: 27 May 2021 Accepted: 11 August 2021 Published: 5 October 2021

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Abstract

This study investigates how autobiographical narratives enhance wellness, and it pays a specific focus on Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo and Funso Adegbola’s He gave Me Wings: Me and My Dad. The writers are two prominent Nigerian women. Both of them wrote about how a man’s influence significantly shaped their lives. While Oluremi Obasanjo presents her husband as a villain that almost maimed her, Funso Adegbola presents her dad as a hero that made her. Oluremi reveals how the syntax of her existence was only punctuated with momentary joys before her divorce, Funso unveils how her dad gave her wings to fly high above the common storms and limits of young women in a third world country. The study identifies the literary merits of the autobiographical narratives; it highlights the points of convergences and divergences between the two narratives understudied, as well as the inherent mental health benefits to the writers. The process of autobiographical writing is depicted as providing therapeutic authentication for the writers’ grieves. Both authors gained audibility and visibility through the instrumentality of writing. The process of writing these autobiographies became a resilience building device for their authors as they were able to negotiate their traumatic experiences by expressing themselves through writing. While Oluremi creates a positive public image for herself against the domineering political stature of Obasanjo in Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo, Funso re-enacts positive memories of her late father through writing to ‘re-member’ him to their community from which death exited him in He Gave Me Wings: Me and my Dad.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 9, Issue 5) This article belongs to the Special Issue Illnesses, Diseases and Medicalisation in African Literature
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13
Page(s)	225-233
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Scriptotherapy, Compassionate Community, Mental Health, Grief Enfranchisement, Therapeutic Scriptorium

References

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Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki. (2021). Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 9(5), 225-233. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13

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Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki. Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2021, 9(5), 225-233. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13

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Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki. Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings. Int J Lit Arts. 2021;9(5):225-233. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13,
  author = {Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki},
  title = {Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {9},
  number = {5},
  pages = {225-233},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20210905.13},
  abstract = {This study investigates how autobiographical narratives enhance wellness, and it pays a specific focus on Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo and Funso Adegbola’s He gave Me Wings: Me and My Dad. The writers are two prominent Nigerian women. Both of them wrote about how a man’s influence significantly shaped their lives. While Oluremi Obasanjo presents her husband as a villain that almost maimed her, Funso Adegbola presents her dad as a hero that made her. Oluremi reveals how the syntax of her existence was only punctuated with momentary joys before her divorce, Funso unveils how her dad gave her wings to fly high above the common storms and limits of young women in a third world country. The study identifies the literary merits of the autobiographical narratives; it highlights the points of convergences and divergences between the two narratives understudied, as well as the inherent mental health benefits to the writers. The process of autobiographical writing is depicted as providing therapeutic authentication for the writers’ grieves. Both authors gained audibility and visibility through the instrumentality of writing. The process of writing these autobiographies became a resilience building device for their authors as they were able to negotiate their traumatic experiences by expressing themselves through writing. While Oluremi creates a positive public image for herself against the domineering political stature of Obasanjo in Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo, Funso re-enacts positive memories of her late father through writing to ‘re-member’ him to their community from which death exited him in He Gave Me Wings: Me and my Dad.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings
AU  - Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki
Y1  - 2021/10/05
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JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13
AB  - This study investigates how autobiographical narratives enhance wellness, and it pays a specific focus on Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo and Funso Adegbola’s He gave Me Wings: Me and My Dad. The writers are two prominent Nigerian women. Both of them wrote about how a man’s influence significantly shaped their lives. While Oluremi Obasanjo presents her husband as a villain that almost maimed her, Funso Adegbola presents her dad as a hero that made her. Oluremi reveals how the syntax of her existence was only punctuated with momentary joys before her divorce, Funso unveils how her dad gave her wings to fly high above the common storms and limits of young women in a third world country. The study identifies the literary merits of the autobiographical narratives; it highlights the points of convergences and divergences between the two narratives understudied, as well as the inherent mental health benefits to the writers. The process of autobiographical writing is depicted as providing therapeutic authentication for the writers’ grieves. Both authors gained audibility and visibility through the instrumentality of writing. The process of writing these autobiographies became a resilience building device for their authors as they were able to negotiate their traumatic experiences by expressing themselves through writing. While Oluremi creates a positive public image for herself against the domineering political stature of Obasanjo in Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo, Funso re-enacts positive memories of her late father through writing to ‘re-member’ him to their community from which death exited him in He Gave Me Wings: Me and my Dad.
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Author Information

Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki

Department of English, Edo State University, Uzairue, Nigeria

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Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki. (2021). Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 9(5), 225-233. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13

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ACS Style

Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki. Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2021, 9(5), 225-233. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13

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AMA Style

Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki. Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings. Int J Lit Arts. 2021;9(5):225-233. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13,
  author = {Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki},
  title = {Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {9},
  number = {5},
  pages = {225-233},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20210905.13},
  abstract = {This study investigates how autobiographical narratives enhance wellness, and it pays a specific focus on Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo and Funso Adegbola’s He gave Me Wings: Me and My Dad. The writers are two prominent Nigerian women. Both of them wrote about how a man’s influence significantly shaped their lives. While Oluremi Obasanjo presents her husband as a villain that almost maimed her, Funso Adegbola presents her dad as a hero that made her. Oluremi reveals how the syntax of her existence was only punctuated with momentary joys before her divorce, Funso unveils how her dad gave her wings to fly high above the common storms and limits of young women in a third world country. The study identifies the literary merits of the autobiographical narratives; it highlights the points of convergences and divergences between the two narratives understudied, as well as the inherent mental health benefits to the writers. The process of autobiographical writing is depicted as providing therapeutic authentication for the writers’ grieves. Both authors gained audibility and visibility through the instrumentality of writing. The process of writing these autobiographies became a resilience building device for their authors as they were able to negotiate their traumatic experiences by expressing themselves through writing. While Oluremi creates a positive public image for herself against the domineering political stature of Obasanjo in Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo, Funso re-enacts positive memories of her late father through writing to ‘re-member’ him to their community from which death exited him in He Gave Me Wings: Me and my Dad.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Autobiography and Scriptotherapy in Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet and Funso Adegbola’s He Gave Me Wings
AU  - Joseph Ajagunmolu Mayaki
Y1  - 2021/10/05
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 225
EP  - 233
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210905.13
AB  - This study investigates how autobiographical narratives enhance wellness, and it pays a specific focus on Oluremi Obasanjo’s Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo and Funso Adegbola’s He gave Me Wings: Me and My Dad. The writers are two prominent Nigerian women. Both of them wrote about how a man’s influence significantly shaped their lives. While Oluremi Obasanjo presents her husband as a villain that almost maimed her, Funso Adegbola presents her dad as a hero that made her. Oluremi reveals how the syntax of her existence was only punctuated with momentary joys before her divorce, Funso unveils how her dad gave her wings to fly high above the common storms and limits of young women in a third world country. The study identifies the literary merits of the autobiographical narratives; it highlights the points of convergences and divergences between the two narratives understudied, as well as the inherent mental health benefits to the writers. The process of autobiographical writing is depicted as providing therapeutic authentication for the writers’ grieves. Both authors gained audibility and visibility through the instrumentality of writing. The process of writing these autobiographies became a resilience building device for their authors as they were able to negotiate their traumatic experiences by expressing themselves through writing. While Oluremi creates a positive public image for herself against the domineering political stature of Obasanjo in Bitter-Sweet: My Life with Obasanjo, Funso re-enacts positive memories of her late father through writing to ‘re-member’ him to their community from which death exited him in He Gave Me Wings: Me and my Dad.
VL  - 9
IS  - 5
ER  -

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