Ngozi Uma
The pounding widow is a gripping story of a young widow, Efere who lost her husband a few days after their wedding, and the pain of losing him deeply affected her mental health.
She would often visit his grave to cry, refusing to eat or bathe. At night, she would pound something in a mortar over and over again, disturbing the entire village. People wondered what she was pounding every night.
Curious, a girl pretended to be possessed by an evil spirit and ran into Efere’s room to uncover the mystery.
The Pounding Widow is short children’s book that is written it simplest form: relatable, simple words with good narrations.
The author understood what it means to write a book that will be read by children, no ambiguous or vulgar words. It is straight to the point.
She employed her narrative skills, describing every action vividly without over cooking it.
In one of the pages where she captured Efere’s reflective moment, “She touched the bed. It was nothing like the hard, unforgiving mud bed she had slept on for years.
She recalled how, during one of her mad episodes, she had hit her head on that bed so hard that the pain had jolted her back to reality, for a whole day. She laughed softly at the memory, shaking her head. She had been through so much.”
Each chapter has questions to test the readers retention and understanding of the story.
The pounding Widow is a good book for all children who can read. While the book entertains the read and keep them flipping the pages, eager to know what happens in the next chapter till the end, the book also teaches morals: the importance of loyalty and keeping to one’s word. The book has 86 pages.
Many described the book as an interesting read, short, simple and straight to the point.
Ngozi Uma is a graduate of Mass Communication from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, with over a decade of professional experience in journalism.
She currently freelances with Daily Independent Newspaper as a writer, journalist, and columnist, where she specializes as a relationship expert and counselor, offering readers insightful guidance through her columns.
Over the years, she has established herself a prolific storyteller with expertise in news reporting, feature writing, and editorial analysis. In 2025, she received Diamond Excellence Award (Top female, Media Performer of the year).
In addition to her work in traditional media, she is also a content creator, using her communication skills to produce engaging and impactful contents for a wide audience.
