Transcendent Kingdom

Yaa Gyasi was born in Ghana and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. She received a Bachelor's degree in English from Stanford University. Her novel Transcendent Kingdom portrays a cycle of grief, addiction, and depression in a Ghanaian immigrant family in the United States. In fact, Gifty, the main character, mirrors Gyasi herself: both are first-generation Americans raised in the same Alabama town and born to Ghanaian immigrant families. The novel received multiple awards and nominations, including the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction in 2021, the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2021, and the Prix Médicis étranger in 2020. Yaa Gyasi is also known for her novel Homegoing, which is a required read for sophomores in the Menlo curriculum.

Transcendent Kingdom focuses deeply on immigrant life in the United States. Gifty is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University, where she is studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her family moved to the United States from Ghana before she was born, and the cultural differences, language barriers, and religion were major factors of her childhood. Several years after moving to the United States, her father left for Ghana, leaving the family to fend for themselves. Nana, Gifty’s brother, looked up to their father, nicknamed “The Chin Chin Man,” and his absence affected his sports and academic performance. After an injury forced him to take strong opioids, Nana found himself relying on their effects to feel happy and relaxed. His addiction left Gifty and her mother worried, as his behaviors became more erratic. When Gifty is in sixth grade, Nana dies of an overdose, sending their mother spiraling into a deep depression. While her faith and family had been constant forces in her early life, her brother's death pushed her away from God and her mother. Gifty grappled forging her own path after these grounding ties slipped away, and she turned all of her focus on her studies and work.

Gifty’s childhood in the United States exemplifies the strains of cultural belonging and assimilation as an immigrant. Her family struggles with language barriers, adapting to a different society, and starting a new life throughout Gifty’s childhood. Nana faces similar challenges during his soccer games, specifically when his opponent is called out for losing to a player of color. Later, Gifty overhears people at her church blaming Nana’s overdose on his race. The negative stereotypes and microaggressions the characters face throughout the novel show the importance of perseverance and fighting against the odds for family. 

Gyasi’s choice of names in the text plays an integral role in the formation of their identities. Gyasi selected the names Nana and Gifty to be representative of their countries of birth and also to offer insight into their roles within their families. Gifty herself nicknames members of her family in her journal: The Chin Chin Man, The Black Mamba, and Buzz which offer additional insight into a young Gifty’s perception of her family. For instance, Gifty nicknamed her brother ‘Buzz,’ because of his both annoying and familiar constant presence in her life.

Depression and addiction are important factors throughout Transcendent Kingdom. Following her brother’s overdose and throughout her mother’s depression, Gifty finds herself alone in a world bent towards racism and unjust. Even though Gifty herself opposes traditional drugs due to her brother’s experience, she becomes invested and addicted to her work and studies as a coping mechanism and path to a better future. Gyasi expresses the importance of spirituality and human connection in battling all kinds of addictions.

Spirituality and science intersect throughout the text because both encompass parts of Gifty’s identity. In her early years, Gifty followed in her mother’s footsteps as a devout Christian. When her brother dies, however, her faith withers as she feels betrayed by her mother, church, and God himself. As a young adult, Gifty turned to science as a means to view the world, yet it did not provide her all the answers. Ultimately, she came to terms with her inability to fully understand the world through religion or science: “I used to see the world through God’s lens, and when that lens clouded, I turned to science...both have failed to fully satisfy their aim: to make clear, to make meaning.” Gifty came to terms with her inability to truly understand the world, accepting that no one idea will give her the answer.

Gyasi’s final message is one of hope: keep moving forward, no matter what life throws at you. Gifty did not let her father’s departure, her brother's death, or her mother’s depression hinder her from achieving her goals, but she rather used these experiences as inspiration in her studies. Gifty felt enormous relief when an experimental mouse refused the Ensure because the mouse was able to maintain a sense of freedom and control in its life, what she defined as its “saving grace” (273). While Gifty never became addicted to drugs as her brother did, her spirituality, and later her career offered her joy and fulfillment and began to guide her through her life.

1. Gifty was opposed to experimenting with drugs as an undergraduate because of her brother’s addiction, so why was she inclined to taste the Ensure that her experimental mice were addicted to (150)? What does this irony reveal?

2. In her journal, Gifty refers to her religious mother as “The Black Mamba,” one of the deadliest types of snakes. What does this nickname imply about how Gifty views her mother and Christianity?

3. In Ghanian culture, the name ‘Nana’ refers to the title of a monarch, while Gifty’s name is derived from the English word gift. How do you observe the associations with Nana and Gifty’s names mirrored in their roles within their family?

4. While Nana became addicted to OxyContin, Gifty became highly invested in her work and studies. How does Gifty’s addiction to her career compare to Nana’s addiction?

5. Why did Nana refuse help in overcoming his addiction, and why did Gifty’s mother reject psychiatric help for her depression? To what extent do cultural stigmas surrounding mental health cause a denial of struggle?

6. When Nana was a star basketball player, people in the community were friendly and enthusiastic about his athletic pursuits. When Gifty got pulled over for a speeding ticket, her job as a “neurosurgeon” gave a police officer reason to let her go without a ticket (151). How do achievements influence the way people view others? How do our personal achievements influence our self-perception?

7. When Nana died, Gifty’s mother sank into a depression and never fully recovered. Simultaneously, Gifty lost her religious streak as she felt as though God failed her. How were Gifty’s faith and view of her mother intertwined?

8. Why does Gyasi intersperse the story of Gifty’s life with journal entries from her youth?

9. When the general community learned of Nana’s opioid addiction, they shunned the star athlete. What role do stigmas play in one’s recovery from an addiction?

10. How do Gifty’s religious background and scientific expertise influence the way she views the world?

11. Gifty feels compassion for the mice she experiments with. How did she see Nana mirrored in that mouse, and how did her role as a mouse caregiver and experimenter compare to her role as Nana’s sister?

12. Gifty lied to her boyfriend Raymond about visiting Ghana, she only told Anne superficial family stories, and she deferred spending time with Katherine. Why is Gifty reluctant to open up to others?