This year’s StoryMoja Hay Festival featured dozens of local and international writers of repute. Among them was author and journalist Precious Williams. Born to a Nigerian princess, her memoir, “Precious”, tells the compelling story of her life as the adopted daughter of a white family living in West Sussex, England.

It all begins with an advertisement. Nursery World, 1971: “Private foster parents required for a three-month-old baby.” Precious then delves into a narrative that twists and turns like a salsa dancer caught in the moment. She shares how she grew up under the care of a nanny, but spent a large chunk of her time trying to fight her way into the heart of her biological mother. All through the book, the reader is magically taken through the tale of this inquisitive girl who just wanted to know why her mother gave her away.

Precious confesses to ignoring the love she had at home in searching for the love that eluded her. Perhaps it was because her mother didn’t seem to definitively decide whether or not she wanted her child, making visits to Precious’ adoptive home every so often. The book also focuses on her experiences as a coloured girl in a largely white community.

During a talk at StoryMoja Hay Festival, Precious spoke of a lack of self-awareness of her African heritage. “When my mother brought my relatives to see me, I was afraid of them and always hid behind the seats. I remember one day my stepfather came to visit, and I started screaming because I was afraid to get into his car. The neighbours called the police and said, ‘There’s a black man here.’ And the police came right over. He was shouting to me as they took him away, ‘But you are African!’”

The reader sees Precious stumble along the way into the arms of men who seem fascinated by parts of her body that even she doesn’t understand. She grows in silence. But this is not your run-of-the mill tale of triumph over adversity. It’s larger than that. Written in a simplistic and elegant style, this is the story of a girl who spent her life wondering whether the name “Precious” was given to her in irony.