Why dream if you cannot
dream big, really big?

Underground is the story of
my American dream.

“Readers will be swept into Ayoade's vivid recollections...”

—Publishers Weekly

ayoade-underground-3D
ayoade-underground-3D

Why dream if you cannot dream big, really big?

Underground is the story of my American dream.

“Readers will be swept into Ayoade's vivid recollections...”

—Publishers Weekly

About 'Deji

Dr. 'Deji Ayoade (ah-yo-AH-day) is the first African immigrant to become a nuclear missile operator in the United States Air Force and serve in three U.S. military branches. He is an emerging memoir author and lifelong poet who strives to touch the lives of his readers through heartfelt storytelling. In addition to his memoir and companion poetry book, he is the author of Selah! Selah! (Pause and Think): Poetry.

About Underground

Discover the powerful story of one man's quest for the American Dream and spiritual fulfillment in "Underground" by Deji Ayoade. Join him on an emotional journey filled with trials and triumphs, grief and joy, loss and love. Through candid and vulnerable storytelling, Deji shares his personal narrative with raw honesty and poise.

'Deji in the Media

Cover-to-Cover Podcast Interview with Mary Elizabeth Jackson

Praise for ‘Deji’s Work

Candid, compelling, and poignant memoir... His prose is engaging, vividly depicting daily life in Nigeria and encounters with various Americans. His continuing faith in the fundamental goodness of people is particularly inspiring.

—Kirkus Reviews 

Readers will be swept into Ayoade's vivid recollections of his early years. Ayoade's story is moving, particularly his reconciliation with his father and hard-earned American citizenship, and his message that it's never too late to chase your dreams resonates... 

—Publishers Weekly, Book Life

Enthralling read that not only reminds us of the great American spirit but also retains important facets of Nigerian history and the rich Yorùbá culture.

San Francisco Book Review

Ayoade writes from the heart with emotion and honesty that demonstrate his passion for what he does in life…
His religious faith and commitment to never-ending improvement…are…a role model for others.

—IndieReader

Readers who follow Ayoade on his journey will find his faith-based experiences enlightening, inspirational, and thoroughly engrossing.

—Midwest Book Review

Dr. Ayoade is one to reckon with. A Nigerian-American with an extensive military background, he writes with an old-fashioned candor, unpretentiousness, and sincerity.

Hollywood Digest

Scholarships for international students from developing nations studying in the United States.

Scholarships for United States medical students committed to specializing in geriatric medicine and oncology.

100% of the profits from Underground go to Solani.

Scholarships for international students from developing nations studying in the United States.

Scholarships for United States medical students committed to specializing in geriatric medicine and oncology.

100% of the profits from Underground go to Solani.

Other Titles

 

I’m a Runaway

As the clock ticked,
I wept in the solitary idleness of my mind,
Wishing I could take one more glance,
But I couldn’t
I wished I could wipe my tears,
But they fell on my heart.
—‘Deji Ayoade, Poems from Underground

Latest Blog Post

The True Human – Dreams (Part III) – “The Power of Dreams”

Sigmund Freud proposed that dreams were the royal road to the unconscious, that they reveal in disguised form the deepest elements of an individual’s life. More recently, in contrast, dreams have been characterized as meaningless, the result of random nerve cell activity. Dreaming has also been viewed as the means by which the brain rids itself of unnecessary information. The…

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