If you haven’t read Joan Thatiah books, you do not know what you are missing out on. She is the Self-Published “Big Sister” Who Built Kenya’s Boldest Confessional Literature Brand.
I run Books Point, a used bookstore here in Ruaka, Kiambu County, just outside Nairobi, Kenya. Every week that I watch what people ask for, what they swap, and what they keep coming back to reorder on WhatsApp.
Lately, one name keeps surfacing in those conversations: Joan Thatiah. So, I decided to sit down and actually trace her full journey — book by book — because I think every reader and bookseller in Kenya should understand what she’s built.
From Law to Longform: Her Origin Story
Joan Thatiah didn’t start out as a writer. She trained as a lawyer first. At some point, she made the leap into journalism, and that decision changed everything. For roughly six years, she worked as a features writer for Saturday Nation and Daily Nation, sitting across with women in cafés, in their living rooms, in their cars, and listening.
Really listening. She’s said her mentor, the writer King’wa Kamencu, pushed her to throw out the conventional rules of writing and find her own voice instead.
I find that backstory important, because it explains why her books read the way they do. She’s not writing from theory. She’s writing from thousands of hours of real conversations with real Kenyan women and men. That’s the raw material behind everything that came after.
I should also mention something that surprised me: she’s the only daughter in a family of six brothers. She’s pointed to that upbringing as the reason she writes about masculinity with more nuance than you might expect from someone working in a largely feminist lane. It shows, especially in one of her later books.
The Debut That Started Joan Thatiah Books
In 2016, Thatiah self-published her first book, Things I Will Tell My Daughter: Uncensored Truths on Love, Money and Womanhood. She’s described it as a way to say everything she couldn’t fit into a newspaper column — all the lessons she picked up interviewing women, repackaged as something a “big sister” would tell you over coffee, no sugar-coating included.
This book set the template for her entire career: candid, personal, occasionally uncomfortable, but always direct. And she did it without a traditional publisher behind her. That’s worth sitting with for a moment, because self-publishing in Kenya in 2016 wasn’t the well-trodden path it’s slowly becoming today.
Finding Her Voice: The Self-Help Era
After her debut landed, Thatiah kept writing in that same confident, confrontational register. I’d group four of her books into what I think of as her self-help era:
- I’m Too Pretty to Be Broke (and Other Lies You’ve Been Telling Yourself) — she takes on roughly twenty-one lies women tell themselves, including the idea that being good-looking is somehow enough of an achievement on its own.
- Damn, Girl! Stop That: How Women Shoot Themselves in the Foot — this one is about the moment’s women sabotage their own progress, even when they know better.
- Letters To My Son: Candid Thoughts on Life and Romance — written through the lens of growing up with six brothers and working alongside men, this book pushes back against simplistic ideas about masculinity.
- Everything I Know About Life — a more general collection of the lessons she’s accumulated along the way.
None of these books are long. From what I’ve read about her style, she favors short, punchy books that land hard rather than sprawling ones that wander. If you’re a reader in Nairobi who wants something you can finish in a weekend but still think about for weeks, this is her lane.
The Pivot to Fiction
In 2019, Thatiah did something different: she wrote a thriller called Guilty. It earned her 1st runner-up at the Quramo Writers’ Prize that same year — her one major formal literary recognition so far. She’s talked about enjoying fiction precisely because the characters can surprise even her as the author, which isn’t something you get when you’re writing from real-life interviews.
I think this book matters for understanding her range. She isn’t only a confessional nonfiction writer. She can build plot and tension too.
The Confessions Phenomenon
This is where things get really interesting, and it’s the part of her catalogue most Kenyan readers know her for. Starting with Confessions of Nairobi Women, Thatiah began publishing collections of true, anonymous stories — told to her, not by her — capturing the hidden lives of people in this city. The series eventually grew into five volumes:
- Confessions of Nairobi Women
- Confessions of Nairobi Men
- Confessions of Nairobi Women Book Two
- Confessions of Nairobi Men Book 2
- Confessions of Nairobi Men and Women: The Last Chapter
She’s described the process of writing the final volume as both a privilege and a burden, carrying other people’s stories for five years across cafés, cars, and even 2 a.m. DMs from strangers who needed to tell someone something they couldn’t tell anyone else.
I think the reason this series became a cultural phenomenon in Nairobi specifically is simple: it holds up a mirror to the city. Shame, pride, betrayal, triumph — all the things’ people experience but rarely say out loud — get put on the page anonymously. Readers recognize themselves, or their neighbor, or their ex. That recognition is what keeps the series moving off shelves and out of WhatsApp order chats.
Mad Women: The Defiant Coda
Her most recent release before the Confessions finale, Mad Women: True Stories of Defiant Kenyan Women, collects ten stories about women who broke from what society expected of them — and the book is careful not to wrap their stories in a tidy bow of “empowerment.” These are messy, complicated, real accounts, which fits her brand perfectly.
Building an Empire, Not Just a Backlist
Here’s the part I respect most as a fellow bookseller: Thatiah didn’t stop at writing. She founded Stori Zetu — The Bookstore, a physical shop in Nairobi’s CBD (Mithoo Business Plaza, Moi Avenue) that also operates online and doubles as her own publishing imprint. Her recent ISBNs list Stori Zetu as the publisher, which tells me she’s controlling her own supply chain — writing, publishing, and selling, all under one roof.
That’s a model I recognize. At Books Point, in Ruaka, we’ve built our own business around direct relationships with readers through WhatsApp rather than depending on big platforms. Thatiah is doing something parallel at a larger scale: author-led, audience-first, and not waiting around for a traditional publishing house to say yes. If you’re a Kenyan reader trying to understand where self-publishing is heading in this country, she’s one of the clearest examples of what it can become.
Joan Thatiah Books Reception and Critique
Her books consistently pull strong reader ratings, and the Confessions series in particular draws thousands of ratings and reviews — proof that demand is real, not manufactured. That said, she’s openly said her opinions don’t always sit well with her audience. Some critics have noted that her work can feel narrow in theme since she returns again and again to womanhood, money, and relationships. But I’d argue that’s also her strength. She picked a lane, she knows it intimately, and she’s gone deep instead of wide.
Why She Matters for Kenyan Reading Culture
I keep coming back to this question: why does a self-published author from Nairobi end up tagged as a bestseller on sites like Nuria Store, get cleared off Text Book Centre’s Book Tok-discount shelves, and show up in feminist book club picks across the city? I think it’s because she proves something a lot of Kenyan writers and booksellers need to hear — you don’t need to wait for a foreign publisher or a literary gatekeeper in London or New York to build a readership in Kenya. You can write for Nairobi, sell in Nairobi, and grow from there.
That’s exactly the kind of reading culture I want to support from Books Point here in Ruaka, Kiambu County. Whether you’re picking up a secondhand copy of Confessions of Nairobi Women or hunting for Things I Will Tell My Daughter, you’re part of a reading movement that’s distinctly, proudly Kenyan.
Joan Thatiah’s Complete Bibliography (12 Books, By Our Count)
Different sources list her catalogue differently — some say five, some say ten, some say eleven — likely because she’s still actively releasing and outlets haven’t all caught up. Going through Goodreads, her own social pages, and bookstore listings, here’s the full list as it stands today:
- Things I Will Tell My Daughter: Uncensored Truths on Love, Money and Womanhood (2016)
- Damn, Girl! Stop That: How Women Shoot Themselves in the Foot
- Letters To My Son: Candid Thoughts on Life and Romance
- I’m Too Pretty to Be Broke (and Other Lies You’ve Been Telling Yourself)
- Everything I Know About Life
- Guilty (2019)
- Confessions of Nairobi Women
- Confessions of Nairobi Men (2023)
- Confessions of Nairobi Women Book Two
- Confessions of Nairobi Men Book 2
- Mad Women: True Stories of Defiant Kenyan Women
- Confessions of Nairobi Men and Women: The Last Chapter
Book-by-Book Breakdown
Here’s a quick-reference rundown of each title, in case you’re searching for one specific book rather than her whole story.
Things I Will Tell My Daughter (2016)
Her self-published debut. Candid lessons on love, money, and womanhood, written in her signature “big sister” voice.
Damn, Girl! Stop That: How Women Shoot Themselves in the Foot
A look at the ways women unintentionally sabotage their own progress, even when they know better.
Letters To My Son: Candid Thoughts on Life and Romance
Written through the lens of growing up with six brothers, this one challenges simplistic ideas about masculinity.
I’m Too Pretty To Be Broke (and Other Lies You’ve Been Telling Yourself)
Roughly twenty-one lies women tell themselves, tackled head-on, including the myth that beauty alone is enough.
Everything I Know About Life
A broader collection of life lessons pulled from her years of interviewing and writing.
Guilty (2019)
Her one work of fiction so far — a thriller that won 1st runner-up at the Quramo Writers’ Prize.
Confessions of Nairobi Women
The book that launched the Confessions series — true, anonymous stories from women across Nairobi.
Confessions of Nairobi Men (2023)
The male counterpart to the original Confessions of Nairobi Women, and one of her highest-rated titles.
Confessions of Nairobi Women Book Two
A second volume of women’s true stories, expanding the original collection.
Confessions of Nairobi Men Book 2
A second volume of men’s confessions, continuing the franchise.
Mad Women: True Stories of Defiant Kenyan Women
Ten stories about Kenyan women who broke from what was expected of them, told without a neat “empowerment” bow.
Confessions of Nairobi Men and Women: The Last Chapter
The fifth and final volume in the Confessions series, closing out five years of collected stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Joan Thatiah written? By our count, twelve, spanning self-help, fiction, and her true-story Confessions series. The number varies across sources because she’s still releasing new titles.
What order should I read the Confessions series in? Start with Confessions of Nairobi Women, then Confessions of Nairobi Men, followed by the “Book Two” volumes of each, and finish with Confessions of Nairobi Men and Women: The Last Chapter.
Where can I buy Joan Thatiah’s books in Kenya? You can find new copies through her own bookstore, Stori Zetu, in Nairobi’s CBD, or through outlets like Nuria Store and Text Book Centre. You can also check with us at Books Point in Ruaka, Kiambu County — we restock her titles as they come in, and you can place an order with us directly on WhatsApp.
Is Joan Thatiah’s writing fiction or nonfiction? Mostly nonfiction — memoir-style self-help and true-story anthologies. Guilty is her only published work of fiction so far.
Find Joan Thatiah’s Books at Books Point, Ruaka
If this article has you wanting to start (or complete) your Joan Thatiah collection, that’s exactly the kind of request we love at Books Point. We’re a secondhand bookstore based in Ruaka, Kiambu County, just outside Nairobi, and we stock Kenyan authors alongside our wider used-book catalogue. Message us on WhatsApp to check what’s currently in stock, or browse our online catalogue at bookspoint.co.ke. Supporting homegrown Kenyan writers like Joan Thatiah is part of why we do what we do — and it costs a lot less to build your shelf with us than buying everything new.
Closing Thought on Joan Thatiah books
I started this piece wanting to answer a simple question for myself and for my customers in Ruaka – and Kenya at large: who is Joan Thatiah, and why does everyone keep asking for her books? What I found is a writer who turned six years of listening into a twelve-book catalogue, built her own bookstore to sell it, and gave Nairobi a mirror it clearly wanted to look into.
As a bookseller myself, I find that story as compelling as any of the confessions inside her pages. — Eddy, Books Point — your trusted secondhand bookstore in Ruaka, Nairobi, Kenya.
