Sisters Naomi Domkam (left) and Stessy Mezeu (right) recalled stories from their childhood in Cameroon to write a book about sharing.
A Park Hill resident has channeled lessons from her childhood in Cameroon to write a children’s book that explores one of humanity’s most transcultural struggles: how to share.
Stessy Mezeu, who moved to Park Hill three years ago, began brainstorming a book about sharing with her sister during the Covid pandemic. Both Mezeu and her sister, Naomi Domkam, grew up in Cameroon with their two brothers before immigrating to California when Mezeu was nine years old and Domkam was eight. While they pursued differing educational paths–with Mezeu moving to Washington, D.C. to study international affairs and Domkam settling in San Francisco for a career in finance–the sisters have remained tight.
Left photo: In a childhood photo, Mezeu (in green), Domkam (in yellow), and Siegning (in white) stand with their older brother and mom. Right photo: From left to right: William Siegning, Naomi Domkam, their mom Bernadette Kameni, and Stessy Mezeu recently gathered in Cameroon.
“When everything shut down [during the pandemic], we were on the phone every Saturday, reminiscing and laughing, then joking about writing a book,” recalls Mezeu. The sisters started recording their most treasured memories in a Google spreadsheet, even as they wondered what it might take to turn their joke about publishing into an actual children’s book inspired by their childhood.
“We realized we had something special as siblings, something that wasn’t the norm: The four of us kids would solve things as a council and come up with our own rules,” Mezeu says.
Mezeu and Domkam’s young relatives in Cameroon giggle over the pages of How the Sly Siblings Learned to Share, which is co-illustrated by the authors’ brother.
Many of the rules that Mezeu and her sibling council established were centered around food. “Our mom would come home with cookies, and we were expected to figure out how to share them,” she says. Domkam adds, “We created an environment where everyone felt empowered to not only articulate their opinion but to defend it as well.”
With those memories in mind, the sisters put pen to paper. They hoped their readers would find they could apply the Sly Siblings’ “conflict resolution skills” to their own lives, notes Domkam, including the values of “listening, cooperation, and perspective-taking.”
“Writing was the fun part,” Mezeu says. Their final text, How the Sly Siblings Learned to Share, features “the Sly siblings,” named in honor of the characters’ mischievous outlook and modeled after Mezeu, Domkam, and their brothers. “Each one is in the hot seat once,” Mezeu explains. “No one is all good or all bad.”
In the story, the Sly siblings each struggle with sharing a favorite food item before partnering with their siblings to counter unfairness and show empathy. “It’s important for kids to know that they also have power and can talk through things to solve problems,” says Mezeu.
In keeping with the family theme, the sisters asked one of their brothers, William Siegning, who is a graphic designer in Cameroon, to illustrate their text. “But then his laptop was stolen,” says Mezeu, so the sisters took Siegning’s initial artwork for the book to Australian illustrator Maeve Baker, who was able to incorporate their brother’s creative vision with her own whimsical style.
“We never really thought further than the next thing, so we didn’t know how hard the publishing process could be,” Mezeu says. “It helped that it was the two of us together.”
Formatting proved to be the trickiest part of self-publishing. “There were so many small but necessary considerations that could only be learned by doing,” Domkam says. “We spent nearly six months trying to format the finished product ourselves before realizing that we needed to bring in an expert to bring us to the finish line.”
Although How the Sly Siblings Learned to Share celebrates conflict resolution in the hands of young people, Mezeu and Domkam credit their mother with giving them the confidence to express themselves and solve problems. In fact, they dedicated the book to their mom because “none of this would’ve been possible without her,” says Domkam.
Mezeu suggested, with a laugh, that the siblings have learned their childhood sharing lessons well, as they wholeheartedly collaborated on How the Sly Siblings Learned to Share. Domkam agreed, saying, “The council not only served as a fun bonding moment with my siblings, but I think it also played a large role in the close relationship we have today.”
The sisters wrapped up the project last year, although they continue to maintain the book’s website (theslysiblings.com) and are looking to hold classroom readings. The book is available through Amazon and in local shops, including Tattered Cover on Colfax Ave. and Little Bird Denver in Park Hill.
Photos courtesy of Stessy Mezeu
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