Nathalia Zongo
 

As a little girl growing up in Burkina-Faso, Nathalia Zongo dreamed of success as a writer. After living, working, and attending school in New York, moving to Cleveland, Zongo has begun to fulfill that dream by continuing college in Texas and writing When Everything Has Fallen, her first book.

This outstanding book is an inspirational memoir from author Nathalia Zongo. She lets you experience her journey as a young girl in a politically prominent West African family that faces tumult, struggles, and heartache to her emergence as a strong, faith-filled, and successful American college student.

How is a family kept together? Author Nathalia Zongo was born in Burkina-Faso, West Africa, and is the sole female in a family of 4 children. But when the president Tomas Sankara was assassinated, her father Etienne Zongo, the president's first military officer, was put under surveillance. His passport was confiscated, and he was subsequently arrested. With their father gone, this family's great struggle began.

It took 7 long years before Zongo saw her father again, and by that time, he had become a stranger to his family. Throughout her struggles and disappointments, Zongo never gave up hope of a better life for her family and herself. She relentlessly pursued her dreams, eventually leaving her country Burkina-Faso and traveling to America to attend college.

This is a stunning memoir about grappling with what life has handed you and grabbing every opportunity that comes your way. Zongo's coming of age and coming to terms with her inner strength as she navigates a new world in America is thrilling and inspirational. Relying on her faith in God and her friends, she created a new life for herself; from the ashes of the old, triumphing against all odds. Visit Nathalia online at  http://www.wheneverythinghasfallen.com

 

PageOneLit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?

Nathalia Zongo: I grew up in Burkina-Faso, a small country located in the West part of the continent of Africa. Reading and writing were part of my life one of my favorite thing that I loved to do was reading children's books when I was a child, and the first thing I wrote was a letter to my father after he was exiled and was staying in France. But most of my reading was when I was a teenager. I used to read from African's authors like Mariama BA, Chinua Achube and so many others..

PageOneLit.com: Why do you write?

Nathalia Zongo: I write because I love writing and also it allows me to express myself and to share the little of what I know and been through in my life with others.

PageOneLit.com: For those who don't know, who was Thomas Sankara?

Nathalia Zongo: Thomas has been the president of Burkina-Faso, between the year 1984-1987, which was the year that he was assassinated by one of his closest friend. I don't know very much of him( because I was only a child) except that what he wanted was no arm to my country or anyone, but unfortunately not everybody supported his ideas of changing the continent of Africa in general and Burkina - Faso in particular, into a better place to live for everyone.
 

PageOneLit.com: In your new book, "When Everything Has Fallen", you have penned a beautiful memoir about keeping your family together after (African president) Thomas Sankara was assassinated - Discuss your family and what life was like (before and after) this period/time?

Nathalia Zongo: I remember my parents happy, I remember them waiting on each other before they go on the table to eat, I remember that my mother loved gardening and she had a lot of roses in our courtyard. I remember my two brothers at the time happier and we used to play a lot together. I remember my dad sometimes picking us up after school, playing with us.... in one word I remember that we were simply a Family.

But After the president Thomas Sankara was assassinated in 1987, our world turned upside down, and nothing has ever been the same again. My father had to run away around the year 1990 if he wanted to stay alive, leaving my 3 brothers and I with our mother, and since then he hadn't come home yet.
The Hardest part growing up without our father around was not easy at all and it also had serious impacts on everyone of us especially on my brothers over all these years.
 

PageOneLit.com: "When Everything Has Fallen" is a great lesson for all regarding family, change, faith and history -- Discuss your county then and now. Discuss your family, then and now.

Nathalia Zongo:  Nothing really changed regarding my country except that it is even worst than before: Corruption, poverty, the education is down, overuse of power ....
The population of Burkina -Faso is scare and no one ever seem to complain about anything. Everyone acts like nothing is wrong and that everything is alright, Leaving Human rights and justice behind. Which I don't blame them at all because the few persons who had the courage to denounced the government unfortunately are no longer alive today.
As it is for my family, there is no much difference from the population.

PageOneLit.com: You did not see your father for seven years - How did you keep hope of seeing him again?

Nathalia Zongo: I had no guarantee of seeing my father again except that in my heart I was hoping and praying to see him again, one day. I truly believe that hope is the most important thing in everyone's life no matter what because as long as you have hope, everything is possible. That's is one of the main reason we should never stop hoping!

PageOneLit.com:  Thomas Sankara's government undertook major initiatives to fight corruption and improve education, agriculture, and the status of women. His revolutionary program provoked strong opposition from traditional leaders -- What was your first thoughts and feelings when you heard of his assassination?

Nathalia Zongo: I was four years old when Thomas Sankara was killed, and at that time, I don't think I knew much about politic at all. All I knew was that something terrible suddenly happened and for some reasons my father was affected along with us. It is only when I became older that I started to understand what really happened.

PageOneLit.com:  How long have you been in the United States? Is the US your home now or do you hope to return to your homeland? Why or why not?

Nathalia Zongo: I am now living in the USA four years now as an International student. I love this country very much because there is no doubt that the United States of America is bless, and I feel secure in this country. I also feel that in here, I can achieve a lot more than if I were in my home country. The proof is that I have written my first book, something that I would have never been able to do if I was still in my country. For me the United stated of America is simply Home

PageOneLit.com:  What did you learn from writing "When Everything Has Fallen"?

Nathalia Zongo: First of all, one thing that I learnt from writing: " When Everything Has Fallen" was that writing is not as easy as it's seems. Also, I truly found myself in " When Everything Has Fallen." and I understood a lot of thing that didn't before.
 

PageOneLit.com: What do you hope readers will learn after reading "When Everything Has Fallen"?

Nathalia Zongo: What I want for the readers is for each one of them to know, that family is what really matters the most in life, and that it is never too late for something good or better to happen in our lives no matter what.

PageOneLit.com: What's next?

Nathalia Zongo:  Next for me will probably be continuing to follow my path which I believe is writing. I loved the first challenge in Writing my first book to the point that I would love to continue writing new ones.

PageOneLit.com: What was the last book you read?

Nathalia Zongo: The last book I read was four years ago, which was: "Le rouge et le noir" by Stendahl and "Candide" by Voltaire. One of the reason I didn't read for so long was because I did not want any book to influence my work in the writing of "When Everything Has Fallen"

PageOneLit.com:  Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they enhance your writing?

Nathalia Zongo:  I love to read, listen to music, watch TV and to travel and discover news things.
For me these hobbies enhance my writing and inspire me in so many ways: first, books, music and movies are very inspirational, it makes you wonder about yourself, your life, your actions, your relation with other... It helps you rediscover yourself!