Joeni thought her twenties would be about dreams coming true and dancing at parties. But life takes a surprising turn when she is diagnosed with a chronic illness.
She is a 20-year-old endometriosis patient at the centre of Journey Through Her Twenties, a debut novel by Shangwe T. Khalwale.
Raised as an only child in Mombasa, Joeni grapples with illness, family expectations, friendships, cultural pressure, heartbreak and identity. Society expects her to be energetic, productive and able to care for her family, but there is only so much her body can do.
Khalwale draws from her real-life experience with endometriosis to shape Joeni’s story, while fictionalising other aspects.
The medical journey in the novel is closely influenced by her own. It took her three years to receive the correct diagnosis. She also fictionalises a surgery to reflect the experiences of other women, even though she found different ways to manage her condition.
“She is a fictional character based on a bit of me. The shared part of the story is my struggle with endometriosis,” Khalwale says.
Telling this story was motivated by the fact that endometriosis is under-discussed in African families. While she admits feeling vulnerable sharing this part of her life, she notes that African women living with the condition need representation in literature.
“She is African, and it is a disease affecting lots of African young ladies. She is there to allow women like her to relate to her,” she says.
Journey Through Her Twenties also challenges how society judges young women living with the illness, often labelling them as lazy.
Joeni mourns versions of herself she might have been without endometriosis. She then grows into a woman who discovers what her body can do, rather than what society demands of her.
“She had to come to terms with the fact that she won’t be able to achieve some of her dreams and be there for her family as she would like,” Khalwale explains.
Her romantic relationships add to her challenges, reflecting how difficult it can be to receive love and care while living with the illness. One partner leaves because he does not know how to help her, while another stays and offers support.
“It is not easy for people living with this disease to feel worthy of love and being wanted,” she says.
The story also explores relationships between fathers and daughters dealing with reproductive health issues.
While she expresses gratitude to her parents, Dr Boni Khalwale, senator for Kakamega County, and Francisca Chao, for their support during her journey, she also gives a voice to young women who lack similar support.
“We get to see Joeni have a difficult relationship with her father, and then it evolves into something beautiful,” she says.
In capturing the complexity of a woman in her twenties, Khalwale says she did not set out to challenge the idea that this decade is for living one’s best life. Instead, she wanted to tell the story of a young woman unable to fully embrace that ideal because of illness.
A self-described coastal girl, Khalwale incorporates elements of Mombasa into the novel, including tuk-tuks, the call to prayer, coastal cuisine, street names and touches of Kiswahili. She notes that the city is rarely depicted in literature.
“I am a coastal girl through and through. I wanted an international market, but I also wanted a bit of my home,” she says.
Writing the novel taught her to embrace vulnerability. She spent two years drafting and redrafting the book, uncertain of how readers would receive it.
“It taught me to tell stories that are not being told every single day. I would like my authorship to fit in the same literary space as Ken Walibora, my favourite Kenyan author,” she says.
Khalwale, who grew up surrounded by books in her home library and received early encouragement from her teacher, describes her writing style as simple, poetic and romantic, shaped by the stories she has read over the years.