Kinyanjui Kombani's latest book, Dear Mama, explores the profound grief of losing a parent, continuing a literary tradition of writing to the departed. The book is an emotional conversation between a son and his deceased mother, mirroring the raw sorrow found in works like Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart and Ocean Vuong's On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.

• Kinyanjui Kombani's Dear Mama is described as a "great feat not only of a new narrative form and a distinctive style but also an ode to Kombani’s courage."
• The book is an example of an "elegiac storytelling" tradition, turning private sorrow into literary form.
• This letter-writing format allows grief to "speak plainly," preserves the voice of the departed, and acts as a "testament to love."