How to Say Babylon (2023) is author Safiya Sinclair's memoir. The book traces Sinclair's upbringing in a strict Rastafarian (a religion whose God is Haile Selassie) to her eventual decision to leave her religion and become a person of her own. As a child, Sinclair wasn't able to be her own person; her patriarchal, oppressive father made decisions for the entire family without thinking about how they would affect everyone. He also didn't allow his daughter to be exposed to Western culture, which he thought was immoral and corrupting. In fact, her father was so strict that every aspect of her life was regulated.
Eventually, Sinclair makes the decision to break free from her father's oppressive grip and become her own person. To do so, she first must but heads with her father, who fights tooth and nail to keep control of his daughter. Nonetheless, she presses on and starts to discover her interest in art and poetry. In time, she finds out who she truly is and discovers that her father and her religion are not things that interest her.
When it was published, How to Say Babylon received exceptionally positive reviews. Kirkus Reviews said in their review that Sinclair's memoir is "More than catharsis; this is memoir as liberation." Publisher's Weekly felt much more positively about the novel, writing in their review that "Readers will be drawn to Sinclair’s strength and swept away by her tale of triumph over oppression. This is a tour de force."
