My story began in October 1972. I am the firstborn and an answered prayer to my parents of blessed memory, Michael and Mary Akoto-Sasu. My name would be Adjoa (Monday born), but my parents believed I was special, so my dad named me after another special woman in his life, his mother. Thus, Dora Kissiwaa was outdoored to the world. As a pampered child, my parents fussed over me excessively. I remember I had an accident in one of our neighbors' homes, which left me in a cast for about 4 months. My mom was distraught. The cast went over my chest and she wore herself out with worry that my breasts would never grow. Looking back, it was very funny how she reacted to the accident. Mymomwas themost influential person in my life as a child. She was entrepreneurial, hard-working, and made sure we had the best. It was her idea that I have a good education, so she did everything to ensure that I had a good foundation by sending me to one of the best nursery schools in the country at the time. She even started a poultry farm just to make sure that I had everything. Together with my younger brother Kwame, we were a happy family of four until tragedy struck when my brother died after being bitten by our neighbor’s rabid dog. It was a sad time in my life. After my brother’s tragic death, my mother had a few miscarriages and then had my younger sister. She was so intent on having a large nuclear family and was ecstatic when she got pregnant again. However, she died in childbirth, leaving me a beautiful sister. My grandmother took up the role of mother and took care of my baby sister until she was old enough to join us in Accra. I was very young when my mom passed away, and it was kept away from me for I AM ADJOA KISSIWAA OBIMPEH UNSTOPPABLE I am unstoppable. I lift my head high and rise above the challenges. For every key on the keyboard that sounds, black or white, I do my dance— my joy dance, then my grief dance, and I still dance when life gives me a combination of white and black keys—I balance them both. For life has taught me that, together, the white and black keys create a beautiful symphony that keeps my song as harmonious as ever. So I dance. Come what may, I am unstoppable. 4
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