How My Daughter Abiah Lit the First Flame in Our Family of Authors
By Dr. Muthoni Omukhango
If you had told me in 2018 that one day our family would have nearly 100 books under our collective belt, I would’ve laughed… politely, of course. At that time, I was knee-deep in ministry work, homeschool planning, and figuring out how to boil the milk for my third baby without spilling it (again). But that year, our firstborn daughter, Abiah, who now writes under the pen name Adnah McKenna, quietly changed the course of our family history.
She was just a teenager when she came across another author, Julius Mwebia, and the opportunity to write her first manuscript.
That manuscript became Conceive Achieve for Teens: Your Roadmap to Success. It wasn’t perfect—neither was I as an editor at the time—but we knew we had to publish it. Her father, Patrick, printed it himself at CLC Kenya, where he was Head of Printing then. I edited it (with one eye on the manuscript and the other on a pot of tea threatening to boil over), and together we launched the book with trembling hearts and hopeful faith.
In 2021, we submitted the book to the inaugural African Christian Authors Book Award (ACABA). That’s when the real training began.
The judges loved the message but pointed out something we hadn’t noticed: the structure was lopsided. The first half was well-sectioned into chapters, but the second half? One long chapter that looked like it had missed its cue to divide and conquer. Tough feedback, yes—but it was the best thing that could’ve happened.
As a family (because we don’t do things solo around here), we sat down and made a plan. Over 2022 and 2023, under CLC Kenya’s guidance, we split the original book into six titles, each focused on one key area of a teen’s journey:
- Breaking the Shell for Teens: You Are Much More
- God-Given Gifts for Teens
- It’s About Time for Teens
- Accountability for Teens
- Conceive Achieve for Teens: Your Roadmap to Success
- From Mentee to Mentor
This wasn’t just repackaging. It was rebirthing. We watched our daughter’s voice grow clearer, stronger—wiser.
And then came the French translation in 2022, where the book won Translation of the Year. Today, teens in Francophone Africa can read “Vise bien et atteins ta cible”—a humble reminder that even a small seed, once planted right, can grow across borders. (Read the book in French at: Amazon)
We’ve also had the joy of seeing her story recorded—
- Her book journey in video form is here
And I still tear up when I remember the moment in 2020 when she was awarded the Outstanding Youth Leadership Award by Josiah Kids – The School of Young Leaders in the U.S. There we were, in our modest Kenyan living room, watching our teen daughter being celebrated across the Atlantic. It didn’t matter that we didn’t fly there. God flew our message.
Since then, our family has followed in her footsteps—one after the other. Ella, our second daughter, published next-7 books. Then Ethan, our son, brought his love for cooking to life with 5 books and counting. And Patrick and I? We just keep catching up with the kids, pen in hand.
But Abiah—our Adnah McKenna—was the first to believe that God could use her voice while she was still young. She showed us that teen dreams can become Kingdom tools.
She lit the first flame.
We just passed the torch.
Find more about Adnah at: africanauthors.net
A feature under 100 Days of Publishing in Africa
