Lead with Storytelling Podcast - Sochi Azuh

Skip to content

About
Reviews
Podcast
Contact

sochiazuh

Just posted a review of Open Roads, Open Hearts by

Just posted a review of Open Roads, Open Hearts by Rufina Ajalie—a story about travel, vulnerability, and the quiet ways we grow when we step beyond what’s familiar.

It’s a reflective, character-driven novel that stayed with me long after I finished reading.

Have you read it? Tell me what you thought—and share this with a friend who loves meaningful book conversations.

📚 Black History Month Pick: This Country of Mine b

📚 Black History Month Pick: This Country of Mine by Didier Leclair

Reading this during Black History Month feels especially fitting. I’m drawn to Black authors because their stories naturally resonate with my sense of affinity and belonging.

In This Country of Mine, Leclair follows an immigrant couple in Ottawa navigating isolation, racism, and uncertainty during the early days of the pandemic. Through their parallel journeys, the novel explores identity, fear, love, and what it means to claim space in a country that doesn’t always feel like home.

This one hits a nerve. Navigating life as an immigrant often means relying on stories that act as beacons—guiding, affirming, and reminding us we’re not alone.

I’ll let you know how it pans out. ✨

Have you read this?

Happy New Year! I took a week off over the Christ

Happy New Year!

I took a week off over the Christmas break to celebrate with family and friends, so I missed last week’s dispatch.

During the holiday, I spent time with ideas and stories that asked more of me:

📖 Gerald Schiffhorst’s article on reading as contemplation, drawing on Thomas Merton’s view of spiritual reading
📚 Anthony Doerr’s short story The Shell Collector, a reminder that language can render the unseen visible
🧭 A Far-Flung Life by M.L. Stedman, a multigenerational novel tracing how lives echo across time
⚖️ James Islington’s second instalment in the Hierarchy trilogy, a compelling fantasy world shaped by power, hierarchy, and belief
🎥 Watched Winter in Sokcho, a film that trusted mood and character over spectacle

They reminded me—again—that stories matter.

What did you engage with this week that gave something back?

This is becoming a quiet weekly experiment for me.

This is becoming a quiet weekly experiment for me.
In attention. In reading. In choosing depth over drift. 🌿

Instead of scrolling, I reached for stories, ideas, and better questions.
And I’m already noticing the difference. ✨

Here’s what shaped my thinking this week 👇🏾

📚 Independent scholarship beyond the academy — a reminder that serious thinking doesn’t only live inside institutions.
🏛️ Why the Humanities still matter — and why democracy depends on them more than we admit.
📖 Arundhati Roy on memory, family, and nation — intimate, political, and quietly unsettling.
✨ A fantasy world rich with myth and politics — proof that imagination can carry real weight.
🎬 A mystery that sent me back to the bookstore — the best stories rarely end at the credits.

Small choices.
Sharper thinking.

What did you consume this week that actually gave something back? 💭

Sochi Azuh | Lead with Storytelling

Book Review & Storytelling Podcast

© 2026 Site Design by Aiki Brand Consultancy

About
Reviews
Podcast
Contact