Fatmatta Rawdatu Kanu worked in the University Library and Provincial Laboratory. While nurturing six children and fostering two others, she delivered two more children, she obtained her BA from the University of Maryland and MA in International Relations from Boston University. She is author of several books.
Her first, 'Through the Calabash', told her childhood and coming of age story. She was among the first Temne Muslim girls to attend school and college and became a teacher. She then married, set up a home and started a family. Her second, 'Taste of the Kola Nut' describes her journey to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to join her husband, Sheka Kanu, who was a graduate student at the University of Alberta. They lived in Edmonton for five years. Her third volume, Rock Behind the Waterfall , covers Sheka's diplomatic career in Europe. Fatmatta became wife of the ambassador. 'Shade of the Baobab Tree' is Fatmatta's fourth book.