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Nneka M. Okona
Nneka M. Okona

1.3K Followers

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Published in ZORA

·Nov 19, 2020

A Compassionate Guide to Traveling During a Pandemic

Holiday travel jitters? Don’t worry. Read this. — As the proverbial saying goes, the “most wonderful time of year” has once again arrived. Though this year, the holidays underscore poignant and painful realities — chiefly, how this year has been one of devastation, grief, and loss due to a pandemic that continues to take Black and Brown lives…

Travel

4 min read

A Compassionate Guide to Traveling During a Pandemic
A Compassionate Guide to Traveling During a Pandemic
Travel

4 min read


Published in ZORA

·Aug 7, 2020

Two Exes Wasted My Time. So I Sent Them Invoices.

Can the attempt to get paid by men who disappointed me deliver something bigger than healing? — Days after my 32nd birthday, I sat hunched over my computer typing feverishly into oblivion as the sky darkened outside. It was Memorial Day weekend and instead of being at someone’s barbecue drunkenly two-stepping to Earth, Wind & Fire I was drafting invoices — two invoices — to two men…

Relationships

5 min read

Two Exes Wasted My Time. So I Sent Them Invoices.
Two Exes Wasted My Time. So I Sent Them Invoices.
Relationships

5 min read


Published in ZORA

·Feb 4, 2020

The Novel ‘Black Sunday’ Bravely Takes on Parental Abandonment

In a ZORA exclusive with the author, we explore power, sex, and religion against the backdrop of Lagos — There are some novels that stay with you, imparting a lasting message and leaving an intangible impact. Black Sunday, a debut novel from author Tola Rotimi Abraham, is one of them. In Black Sunday, Tola Rotimi Abraham, an Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate, weaves a profound narrative about a Nigerian family…

Books

8 min read

The Novel ‘Black Sunday’ Bravely Takes on Parental Abandonment
The Novel ‘Black Sunday’ Bravely Takes on Parental Abandonment
Books

8 min read


Published in ZORA

·Oct 25, 2019

Sunday Dinners Are Sacred for African Americans

Though I moved away from the church, cooking on Sundays keeps me connected to my roots — As a child growing up in the South, I knew that Sunday was a holy and reverent day set aside from all the rest. Each one began the same: stirring from a deep sleep early in the morning, when the faintest light from sunrise was starting to appear; showering and…

Culture

6 min read

Sunday Dinners Are Sacred for African Americans
Sunday Dinners Are Sacred for African Americans
Culture

6 min read


Published in ZORA

·Aug 2, 2019

A Lasting Relationship That Will Never Die

A woman mourns the memory of a close friend who passed unexpectedly — Early last fall, when the leaves began to change colors, I started to feel like I was drifting into the first waves of depression. It was an acute feeling, a knowing, made only worse by sitting still at home every day, pondering my thoughts. And so I bought a ticket…

Death

5 min read

A Lasting Relationship That Will Never Die
A Lasting Relationship That Will Never Die
Death

5 min read


Dec 14, 2018

how to be sad.

My life changed to a hue I’d never seen before or felt on my skin on August 30, 2017. Only, I was oblivious to how it was set to change thousands of miles away in Bogota, Colombia. …

Death

7 min read

how to be sad.
how to be sad.
Death

7 min read


Aug 15, 2018

Putting It All Together in Medellín

“As a Black solo traveler turned travel writer, I’ve learned that travel as escapism is dangerous in its naiveté” —

Travel

4 min read

Traveling While Black in Colombia
Traveling While Black in Colombia
Travel

4 min read


Jun 14, 2018

I’m 32, Single And Have No Kids. Here’s How I Cope With Age-Related Pressure.

A decade ago, I had a clear idea of how my life would be now in my 30s. It was something like this: married with a loving husband and a few kids, a beautiful house from which I entertained family and friends at dinner parties, a fulfilling career that satisfied…

Women

7 min read

I’m 32, Single And Have No Kids. Here’s How I Cope With Age-Related Pressure.
I’m 32, Single And Have No Kids. Here’s How I Cope With Age-Related Pressure.
Women

7 min read


May 25, 2018

7 things I’ve learned solo traveling as a Black woman

When I hear most people talk about their first solo travel experiences, there’s a twinkle in their eyes. Their voices take on a sing-song melody and mimic audible poetry. They share about how they felt pulled to explore the world all on their own, how they booked that trip despite…

Travel

7 min read

7 things I’ve learned solo traveling as a Black woman
7 things I’ve learned solo traveling as a Black woman
Travel

7 min read


Apr 6, 2018

I’m a Black woman who writes about travel and food. Here’s what it ‘s like for me.

One of the first things I learned as a bright-eyed, enthusiastic cub reporter in Journalism school at 19-years-old is that you don’t write from ego. You write to make a difference, to make other people think, to raise awareness, to tell the stories of others. …

Journalism

9 min read

I’m a Black woman who writes about travel and food. Here’s what it ‘s like for me.
I’m a Black woman who writes about travel and food. Here’s what it ‘s like for me.
Journalism

9 min read

Nneka M. Okona

Nneka M. Okona

1.3K Followers

Heart-centered writer writing about travel, food, personal growth and self-discovery.

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