After the sudden death of her father, Tessi, a 35 year old woman from Athens, embarks on a journey to Ethiopia to meet herself and her family’s past

Tessi is 35 years old, lives in the center of Athens, plays in a punk band, is queer, and like

many women of her generation, moves within a familiar environment which has become precarious in recent years. At the beginning of the book, she will lose her father, who was one of the few stable figures in her life. Triggered by this loss and as she searches for her grandmother’s golden pounds, Tessi will move away from the familiar environment where she feels safe and will reach Dire Dawa, a city in Ethiopia, where her family had lived in the past. In the place where her grandmother faced her own demons a long time ago, Tessi will encounter strangers, red flowers, love stories, new friendships, unexpected matriarchies, hyenas, online dating, but above all herself. Towards the end of the book, when she feels that the circle is complete, she will return to Athens stronger and ready for reconciliation and major change. A book about journeys without travel descriptions, about secrets passing from one generation to another, and about the effort of a young woman to define her life and be happy on her own terms.

From the familiarity, financial crisis, and loss of Athens, Tessi will find herself in the city of Dire Dawa with the red flowers, the hyenas, and her grandmother’s past. In the place where one managed to forget, the other will remember and continue. A book about aimless journeys and secrets passing from one generation to another. Can a cat ultimately be the reincarnation of a father? Can a woman’s skin have the color of sand? Can you remember with tenderness without hurting? Through love stories and while searching for her grandmother’s pounds, Tessi will encounter great losses, small victories, and unexpected matriarchies.

Antipodes, 2023, 180 p