(CNN) – Even the most famous voices can be silent. For Chimamanda Ngoji Adichie, the acclaimed author of “Purple Hibiscus,” “American,” and “Half of the Yellow Sun,” that silence stretched over the years. It is an age marked by depression, self-doubt, and an unsettling feeling of locked in the story she intended to tell.
Her new novel, Dream Count, is the first in over a decade, and shows her triumphant return to fiction and a deep personal rebirth. But getting there meant navigating one of the most challenging chapters of her life.
“I was fighting depression in a time when I couldn’t write,” Adichie tells CNN. “You can’t write fiction when fiction is something you love deeply. It’s just a scary place.”
The 47-year-old Nigerian author faced a tough writer’s block caused by personal difficulties, including the 2015 invitation to entice, the loss of both parents, and the demands of motherhood.
She tried to distract herself. She said yes to more speaking engagements than usual and wanted inspiration to attack on the road. But it didn’t. She will go home feeling “miserable.”
Poetry became her lifeline at this time. She was immersed in poetry and believed that its distillation language and musicality would maintain a connection to craft.
“I read more poetry during that era because I think poetry really helps with language,” she explains. “We were in touch with the rhythm of writing.”
Now Adichie is back with “Dream Number.” This is a soft, flinching quest for the intertwined lives of four African women: Chiamaka, Zicola, Cadiatou and Omrogour. Opposed to the background of the Covid-19 pandemic’s isolation, the novel is ingrained in personal grief, partially shaped by the catastrophic loss of parents. Her father passed away from kidney failure in June 2020, and her mother died less than a year later. The cause of the death was not disclosed.
Adichie describes the novel as a departure from her previous work. The closely removed style of “Purple Hibiscus” and her early short stories gave way to something more vast and extravagant. “I think my writing is long. I want to be a little generous. Life is very short. Throw everything, throw maximalism! I don’t know if there’s tomorrow, so do it now,” she says. Her rekindled love for poetry pours into the novel a lyrical quality that marks a new stage in her creative voice.
“When the words finally returned, they appeared in a new voice,” she recalls. The voice returned with a new vitality, fearing it would be lost once. Now, a book from the world is out, Adichie is expressing her gratitude – for readers who have completed it and accepted it, and for the rediscovery of her creative self. “My true self is the self that writes fiction,” she says. “I’m grateful that I’m back.”
Her journey offers both attention and comfort to her fellow creatives. Caution: Creative droughts are emotionally cruel and otherwise no one will help. Comfort: Recoverable and work returns to its own time. Her advice is practical yet hopeful. “Our main responsibility is to create. Even if it’s difficult, we stay there. We can’t afford to despair.”
For Adichie, the release of Dream Count is more than just another book release. It’s self-filling. And for those navigating their own season of silence, her story reminds us that even in the darkness, the seeds of new works are taking root and waiting for the right moment to bloom.
CNN’s Larry Madowo and Lamide Akintobi contributed to this report.
