Burnt Eucalyptus Wood
On Origins, Language and Identity
Who are you, when you come from two places?
Ennatu Domingo was adopted from Ethiopia at the age of seven and transplanted to Barcelona where she learned to flourish. But she never forgot her nomadic childhood in the mountains and meadows of Gondar, near the northern border with Eritrea.
Having witnessed the hardships of Ethiopian rural women at an early age, she was inspired to study the patriarchal structures that underpinned her individual experiences, both in Europe and in contemporary Ethiopia. She has lived in Kenya, Belgium and the UK, and has travelled across five continents, but keeps returning to the country of her childhood, to re-construct a lost identity guided by the echo of her first language Amharic and the weight of a rich cultural heritage.
Torn between forgetting and remembering, Ennatu explores the dilemma of international adoptees and migrant children and their quest for belonging in a book destined to be a classic of its genre.
‘The biography of Ennatu Domingo is impressive, and hearing her speak is no less so. In this small body there are more experiences than can be imagined for a 25-year-old from Barcelona.’ — ARA
‘The author mixes the sentimental, intimate and evocative part, which she knows first-hand, with statistics and reports on the African social and economic reality.’ — La Vanguardia
‘In the midst of so much pessimism, especially among young people, this book is like a crack of light in the dark. […] Compulsory reading.’ — Time Out Barcelona, starred review
Ennatu Domingo was born in Ethiopia. She holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in International Conflict and Security. She was awarded a Schuman traineeship to work at the European Parliament’s Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) Unit and currently works for the European Centre for Development Policy Management in The Netherlands.
Ennatu’s non-fiction debut, Burnt Eucalyptus Wood was published in March 2022 by Editorial Navona in Catalan and Spanish. The book was an instant success across print and broadcast media.
