Book Review: Kasie...Loss, Love & Life By Udo Jude Ilo

“I have not lost a daughter; I only gained an angel. Sleep little one”

This is an amazing book by a man in Grief. He is a fellow comrade and senior colleague in the development sector who had something catastrophic happen to him and his family. Mr. Jude Ilo, Country Representative of the Open Society Initiative West Africa lost his daughter, Natasha Ilo at the tender age of 2 years. The grief, pain, regret and inner turmoil that he and his family went through was almost unbearable. “At night I would cry and write what was in my heart because during the day I had to be strong for my family”, Jude Ilo (February 23rd, launch of Kasie, and the Natasha Ilo foundation).

Upon arriving home after the book launch, I opened the pages of the book and started reading. I felt the recesses of the soul of a man in intense pain and agony with so many questions to God and himself. When I open a book and cannot put it down, I tend to talk about it and form an opinion. As a fellow creative, I watched the canvas of the artistry of words being used in the midst of intense despondence.  The pain of wanting to hold Natasha close, the desire to take her place so she could live. Emotions of regret and the inability to protect her. In the present, the inner confusion and helplessness he felt with the inability to shield his wife and daughter of the inner torture they were experiencing. 

Kasie…Loss, Love and Life is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 is Flashes of pain; which exposed me to the heart and soul of a man experiencing a darkness and hurt that could only be expressed through the tapestry of his words. He started with a letter to his father demanding answers to why Natasha was taken away? An inner struggle of love and anger filled his passionate release of words on a page. This book is to empathize with fathers and men who experience loss with no outlet to release their pain and grief. It gives them the will to go on while holding on to the memories of love. Reading this gave me a picture of loss, love and happiness in a few pages. Jude’s agony was the canvas, his pain and hope, the brush and oil colors used to develop the painting of this very book.

Part 2 discusses the flashes of love with his intense desire to talk to Natasha once again. In this section, Jude talks about his faith struggle to keep moving in spite of the layers of grief. He reminisces on their time together and how he could do anything to rekindle those moments. In his poetry to Natasha, Jude takes the reader through his maze of darkness and leading us to the light at the end of the tunnel when he will see her again.

Finally, the reader turns from the pages of Jude’s journey to Part 3; that talks about the hope of seeing Natasha again in the creative art of poetry. He emphasizes that this is not our home to reassure himself and the reader who may be grieving, the opportunity to meet their loved ones who have passed on.   

I would like invite you join me live on #Devsectorseries Wednesday, March 10th at noon to talk with Udo Jude Ilo about his journey from "Pain to Impact". Click Here to get a reminder of the live session.

Jude, it is with immense gratitude to you for baring your soul to the world through your creative writing. I do hope we see more of your work because you have wet our appetite in the artistry of your words. 

In Natasha's memory, Jude and his wife founded the Natasha Ilo foundation in their angel's memory. The foundation provides education and healthcare resources for young children. This way, Natasha will never be forgotten. Please visit the website here to see how you can support this worthy cause.

To purchase Kasie...Loss, Love, and Life, on amazon, Click here.