Sarah Fairbairn reviews an ‘inspiring’ memoir about the Black migrant experience in 1960s London
Like many people, Charlotte Osho – mother of celebrated comedian Andi Osho – started writing her memoir as a kind of legacy gift for her family. “I started in 2016”, she says, “and treated it very much like a hobby. I had no finish date in mind.”
She wrote The Jagged Path purely from her memory, with no journals or diaries to draw on. This meant it was pieced together organically: “Often, I’d be chatting with my daughter, Andi, sharing a story from my past and she’d say, “Mum, that should be in your book!”’
Having lost both of her parents while still a young child and living away from home, Charlotte describes being put to work as a kind of housemaid at a relative’s home, without any access to education or ability to gain independence.
Eventually, after achieving some schooling and experience in a poorly paid job in Nigeria, she moved to London with her husband, having to leave her infant son behind with family. As her marriage became less tenable, and her husband more unpredictable, it became clear that she would have to look out for her growing family alone. She describes training as a surgical nurse in the 1960s, and the contrast with today’s NHS is striking.
“There was a very rigid structure when I first qualified in the sixties”, she says. “We had a set uniform and woe betide any nurse who did not look spick and span on the ward. I don’t think today’s nurses would tolerate how we were spoken to. Nor should they.”
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As you might expect, the book provides a clear insight into the immigrant experience in the sixties. She writes: “At times you might be openly abused, called names. That was very unpleasant. I think that’s why those of us who came from Africa, the Caribbean and Asia formed strong communities so that we could feel a sense of belonging.”
The incredible story of Charlotte’s life can’t fail to be inspiring, and reflecting on her achievements the author draws a line between the difficulties of her early life and her ability to rise above them: “One of the most valuable things I have taken from childhood is the notion of hard work, doing your best and being of service to others. My advice is always the same, this too shall pass.
Even when I was at my most desperate, I always knew that what I was going through would end and there would be brighter days ahead.”
‘The Jagged Path’ was published on 28th February by Troubador
Alongside her book, Charlotte will soon have original art pieces available to purchase via her website: charlotteosho.com/gallery
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