Adapted from a spoken word solo show, Chosen Family by ibizo Iami is a raw but gentle story of recovery and strength. Set in the waiting room of Dr Unicorn’s office, Ibizo reflects on the instances that have knocked them down and built them back up again. Through emotionally charged poems and monologues, we start to unpick the importance of boundaries, love and expression in the quest to recover the body from trauma. We meet friends and concepts along the way that shape ibizo’s journey to finding their chosen family. Chosen Family has been adapted for the page by Burning Eye Books.
“From the visceral poetry of recovering from sexual violence and mental illnesses, to the affirmations of friendship and finding belonging in a world were it can be challenging to just be yourself. Chosen Family is at once an unravelling of these pains and an unearthing of a space inside to call home that others can too come to love and visit.”
“Ibizo Lami critically analyses our use of distractions and comes out with sharp-tongued witticisms that make you laugh out loud yet also pack a punch as they cleverly intersect a dissection of class and race. The narrative with Dr Unicorn is peppered with poems that blend together the past with the present. In this collection, maybe you will find a piece of yourself, as I did”
“This collection was compelling because it tells a story. It allows you to view another person’s experience in life, how they found their definition of beauty between the pain & a chosen family they could call their own.”
ibizo lami 