From National Bestselling, critically acclaimed, award winning author comes the story of Abebe “Butterfly” Tsikata.

Abebe experiences plenty of joy in Ghana as the privileged daughter of a government employee and stay at home mother. The love that her parents and extended family lavish her with knows no bounds.

When the Tsikata’s idyllic life style begins to take a turn for the worse, Abebe's father places a nine-year-old Abebe in a shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as religious atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall Abebe for the fifteen years she is enslaved.


When Abebe is finally released back into the world and finds herself not only dealing with the newness of Ghana, but also the fast-paced world of New York, she is broken—emotionally, mentally, physically, sexually, and spiritually. But to live the rest of her years on earth, she must learn to overcome her past, endure familial secrets, and learn to love herself—the good, the bad, and the ugly.


My Name Is Butterfly, is a contemporary story that offers an educational, eye opening account into the practice of ritual servitude in West Africa.

Spanning decades and two continents, My Name Is Butterfly will break and heal your heart ….



Bernice L. McFadden is the author of eight critically acclaimed, award-winning bestselling novels; including the classics Sugar, The Warmest December which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and was lauded as "Searing and expertly imagined" by Nobel Laureate, Toni Morrison.

Her latest novel is Gathering of Waters is narrated by the town of Money, Mississippi and examines the murder and after life of Emmett Till.

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