Totally Booked with Zibby Host: Zibby Owens
Guest: Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström
Episode: "BITTER HONEY"
Release Date: November 6, 2025

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Zibby Owens welcomes back Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström—award-winning author, travel writer, and photographer—to discuss her newest novel, Bitter Honey. The conversation delves into the novel’s exploration of mother-daughter relationships, family secrets, generational trauma, fame, and personal healing. Lolá also reflects on her own creative process, balancing life changes and art, and the universality of resilience. Insights into her travel writing, visual storytelling, recent projects, and advice for aspiring authors round out this rich and heartfelt episode.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Bitter Honey

[02:54–03:59]

• Bitter Honey centers on the intricate bonds between mothers and daughters, the secrets they keep, and the paths to healing when relationships are fractured.

  • The narrative unfolds in a dual timeline: a mother emigrating from Gambia to Sweden in the 1970s, and her daughters' lives in the early 2000s.
  • Themes include generational secrets and the shaping of identity.

  “It’s a story about mothers and daughters and the secrets that lie between them… if you’ve been broken about by secrets, how can you get back together, rebuild that relationship?”
  — Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström [02:57]

• The story also touches on fathers, specifically “deadbeat fathers,” and their impact on identity.

2. Origins and Inspiration

[03:59–04:51]

• Characters Nancy and Tina appeared as side characters in Lolá’s previous novels but demanded a deeper exploration.

• Lolá’s personal experiences—raising a mixed child in Sweden, navigating divorce—shaped her understanding of resilience and finding joy amid life’s derailments.

  “It really was a book about if life doesn’t go the way you planned, if life derails you, how can you still pick up the pieces and make something still beautiful worth living?”
  — Lolá [04:30]

3. Processing Loss and Addiction

[05:29–06:18]

• The book confronts issues like addiction, loss, and love, focusing on generational trauma.

• Lolá stresses honesty in portraying how lack of resources or therapy can lead to destructive patterns.

  “That was what I wanted to talk about, is how we can pass on generational trauma… parents thinking they are doing the right thing, actually affect the kids negatively.”
  — Lolá [06:11]

4. The Nature of Fame

[06:18–07:29]

• Protagonist Tina grapples with being in the public eye, performing authentically while managing private turmoil.

• The narrative cautions that fame, without prior grounding, can be destabilizing.

  “If you aren’t grounded before fame arrives at your door, it can sweep you away.”
  — Lolá [06:53]

5. Personal Grounding and Faith

[07:29–07:51]

• Zibby inquires about Lolá’s own sense of grounding.

• Lolá attributes her grounding to her faith and belief in something greater than herself.

  “I am quite grounded because I know, because I’m a woman of faith as well. So I know that life is much bigger than what I see.”
  — Lolá [07:32]

6. Creativity Amidst Life’s Challenges

[07:54–09:20]

• Lolá highlights the importance of grace and taking things day by day during her divorce.

• Writing Bitter Honey was a cathartic process, detached from but informed by her personal circumstances.

  “If life does have other plans for you, how can you still pick up yourself, dust off yourself, and still show up and then create something, you know, still worth celebrating?”
  — Lolá [08:56]

7. Writing Process

[09:20–09:42]

• The book took about two years to write, in “bits and pieces,” as inspiration allowed.

  “…writing when the spirit moved me and… when there was a flow of creativity.”
  — Lolá [09:35]

8. Recognition and Other Works

[09:42–11:26]

• Discusses Everything Is Not Enough being selected as a Jeanette McCurdy Book Club pick, and the importance of writing authentically.

• Mentions a new novella, Johan, which was written in just a week by deeply understanding the character.

  “When I go into any writing project, I actually spend months thinking about the characters in my head… so now when it’s time to actually write their stories, it comes real quickly.”
  — Lolá [11:16]

9. Upcoming Projects

[16:11–16:44]

• A new novel is in the works, featuring a travel writer protagonist.
• Continues to blend storytelling through writing and photography.

10. Favorite Travel Destinations for Writing

[16:49–18:23]

• Croatia, especially the island of Hvar, is Lolá’s writing sanctuary; she admires its beauty and energy by the sea.

• Reflects on international experiences from Nigeria to Mongolia.

  “Croatia I keep going back to. I’ve been there about 15 times and that’s where I write… there’s something about the Dalmatian coast.”
  — Lolá [17:12]

11. Visual Storytelling and Afro Swede Project

[18:29–19:44]

• Afro Suede is a portrait series celebrating multicultural identities in the Nordics, visually combining African and Swedish cultural elements.

  “With this project, I celebrate what it means to have multiple cultural identities. I can be African, but I can also be Swedish.”
  — Lolá [19:10]

12. Lifelong Creativity and Career Path

[19:49–21:09]

• Lolá’s creativity dates back to childhood, though she first worked in IT before returning to storytelling through writing and photography.

  “The platform I use, I say, is irrelevant. It’s what the story I’m trying to tell demands.”
  — Lolá [20:52]

13. Home Life, Family, and Reality

[21:09–21:44]

• A candid moment as her children quietly move in the background, highlighting the reality of balancing parenting and creativity.

  “Mom. Get it all done. That’s just how it goes.”
  — Zibby [21:36]

14. Books Recommendations

[21:44–22:47]

• Currently reading Friends and Lovers by Shirlene; recently read All Fours.

• Drawn to contemporary Black writers in the diaspora, looking for fresh, non-stereotypical depictions.

  “…books that are not stereotypical. Right. So what is it like to be a 40 year old Black woman who is messy and allowed to make mistakes in society… so those kind of books are the books I'm drawn to.”
  — Lolá [22:22]

15. Advice for Aspiring Authors

[22:52–23:43]

• Encourages writers to focus on telling the story they are moved to tell, regardless of outside expectations or potential reception.

  “Don’t worry about who is going to read your book. Just write the book that you need to write… Write what your soul wants to write.”
  — Lolá [23:04]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “If you aren’t grounded before fame arrives at your door, it can sweep you away.” — Lolá [06:53]
• “Sometimes we can’t break out of that box. So we can at least make that box beautiful.” — Lolá [05:09]
• “Just take it one day at a time… if I look at, okay, what do I have to do next month? That just brings unnecessary anxiety.” — Lolá [08:24]
• “You shamed the rest of us with your productivity.” — Zibby [23:56]

Notable Timestamps

• 02:57 – Introduction of Bitter Honey’s premise
• 04:51 – Advice on picking up the pieces after setbacks
• 05:42 – Discussion of addiction, trauma, and therapy in family dynamics
• 06:53 – Examination of how fame impacts a person’s sense of self
• 09:22 – Discussing the book’s writing timeline
• 11:30 – Writing the novella Johan in one week
• 16:49 – Favorite travel destinations (especially Croatia)
• 18:29 – Afro Swede portrait project explained
• 22:52 – Advice to aspiring authors

Conclusion

This episode offers a rich, relatable conversation between two creative women reflecting on the complexities of family, identity, healing, and creative work. Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström’s warmth and candor shine through as she shares personal and artistic insights, making this a must-listen for readers, writers, and anyone curious about the stories behind compelling contemporary fiction.