Book cover of How to Say Babylon: A Memoir

Book description

With echoes of Educated and Born a Crime, How to Say Babylon is the stunning story of the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing, ruled by her father’s strict patriarchal views and repressive control of her childhood, to find her own voice as a woman and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked How to Say Babylon as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I just could not put this book down. Apart from learning new things a mile a minute, my vocabulary increased. Sinclair takes a deep dive into the life and culture of Rastafarians, and since I love Bob Marley, this was especially intriguing. Most of all, she can write—I mean really write.

In this searing story of redemption, Safiya Sinclair helped me capture a vivid story of how legacies of patriarchal values that are situated in religion, encourage women to abandon themselves, leaving us in a state of perpetual and multigenerational suppression, that prove to be traumatic.

This book took me to new insights on the inner workings of religious trauma, placing that trauma within a patriarchal history that is very much alive today, not just in Jamaica, where the memoir is centered, but in all parts of the world.

I was able to see pieces of this story in my very…

If you love How to Say Babylon...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like How to Say Babylon?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like How to Say Babylon.

Browse books like How to Say Babylon

Book cover of Pachinko
Book cover of Memoirs of a Geisha
Book cover of Finding Me

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,366

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like How to Say Babylon, you might also like...

Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Coyote Weather

Coyote Weather by Amanda Cockrell,

Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.

Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…

5 book lists we think you will like!