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When Titilope Ojo left Nigeria for the United States over a decade ago, her mother told her that a good mother does not run from her child’s home; she always stays and fights. Those words remained fresh in her mind as events unfold in her marriage. Her husband, Tomide, is a handsome and charismatic man who she is afraid of. She spends each day anticipating his moods and lives in fear of offending him. She takes great care to try and love him just the way he wants, but worries that nothing she does will ever be enough.

As her life continues to spiral out of control, Titilope finds herself alone at a crossroads where she must choose between duty and survival.

In Chasing Butterflies, Yejide Kilanko creates a detailed and moving portrait of a difficult and harrowing marriage. She uses crystal clear prose to demonstrate the points of view of both parties and the little child caught in the crossfire of parents who are struggling to be heard and appreciated in their partnership.

In 2014 Ayisha answers a call from within to contest the primaries for a seat in the National Assembly on the platform of Nigeria’s ruling party – the Peoples Democratic Party. She is dissatisfied with the quality of representation – both from the men and women in office and after years advising on and working to get more women into leadership positions, she is curious about what it would take to contest and win.

Can and does she do all that is required of her as an aspirant or does she pick and choose and what impact did her choices have on the results? Was there ever a chance that she could have won? Go through the journey of midnight meetings, envelopes full of money, prayers for sale, tracking the First Lady and trying to get President Jonathan to realise the damage that was being done to the party with the automatic ticket policy and find out what it takes to win (or lose) the primaries of a major political party in Nigeria.

Told in a witty style that belies the heft of its subject matter, Ayisha takes her readers on a spell binding journey into the political underbelly of Nigeria.