In 2015, Dionne Searcey was a New York Times economy reporter living in Brooklyn with her husband and three young children. Overwhelmed by the demands of a dual-career household and urban motherhood, she sought a new challenge as the paper's West Africa bureau chief, relocating her family to Dakar, Senegal. This move turned their lives upside down as they navigated their new environment and family dynamics, with Searcey becoming the primary breadwinner while her husband managed the home. In her role, Searcey faced the challenge of drawing American attention to West Africa during the rise of Trump, often leaving her family for weeks to cover dangerous stories, including Boko Haram's use of teenage girls as suicide bombers and women defying societal norms in rural communities. Upon her return, she grappled with the realities of missed school plays and a husband adapting to being the main caregiver. Searcey’s journey highlights the balancing act of modern life, weaving together the experiences of women caught between traditional patriarchy and a rapidly globalizing world. The narrative offers a deeply personal and compelling exploration of contemporary marriage and a region often overlooked.
