In Dana's Honor

Somewhere in Siaya, Dana is born. She lives, loves and thrives. Having had twelve children, she is thrust back into parenthood at the age of fifty-nine (59) when her husband and adult children die within a span of five years. Her children leave behind orphaned grandchildren that she must raise. Despite her own heartbreak, she dusts herself and embraces the new role; never perfectly, but still, it shields the grandchildren and provides a form of solace whenever they need it. Dana takes her final bow on July 26th, 2012, and the grandchildren, most of them now grown, must forge a way forward without her. In this book titled, "In Dana's Honor," Atieno, who is Dana's maternal granddaughter, puts together seventy-seven of her own personal quotes and passages to symbolize each year that Dana graced this earth; blessing, nurturing, praying for and loving her grandchildren in a bid to honor and celebrate Dana. The preface provides a backstory into the life and times of Dana. In celebration of the extra six months that she lived among us, itself a bonus, Atieno incorporates a few stories of the times that she shared with her grandmother. Through the lens of a granddaughter, one gets a glimpse at the life and times of Dana, as she attempts to navigate through her own heartache and lead a household that was shared by at least eleven orphans in her care.