Womanhood, Wine & Words: A Soulful Conversation with Poet Zuleiha | Dearest Diamond Podcast

This episode on Dearest Diamond, I sit with poet, writer and author Zuleiha Yusuf for one of the most intimate, sensual and emotionally honest conversations I’ve ever recorded.

We talk womanhood, Nigerian girlhood, sensuality without shame, grief, art, motherhood, identity, healing, faith, lust, love, friendship, and the stories that make us. All over a beautiful glass of Italian wine.

This episode feels like sitting with two women you trust — women who tell the truth, who feel deeply, who love language, who are growing and grateful.

IN THIS EPISODE:
– The making of a Nigerian woman
– Finding softness in a hard world
– Sensuality, shame & reclaiming your body
– How poetry became her survival
– The birth of Wretched Race To Be Alive
– Love, heartbreak & holy desire
– Artists navigating the corporate world
– The story of Zuleiha & Yusuf (Biblical + Quranic roots)
– Friendship, gratitude & becoming
– Wine, affirmations & emotional reflections

🍷 Wine of the Episode: Dolciando Italian Red Wine
📖 Her Book: Wretched Race To Be Alive (Available on Amazon – https://a.co/d/3QzSDKX )
📸 Follow Zuleiha’s work on Instagram: @artofzuleiha
💎 Follow the Podcast on Instagram and TikTok @dearest.diamond_podcast

Whether you are a Nigerian woman, a lover of poetry, or simply a woman on a healing journey — this episode will sit with you gently.

0:00 Welcome to Dearest Diamond — Wine, Words & Warmth
1:30 Meet Zuleiha – Poet, Author & Storyteller
4:00 Pouring Wine + What We’re Grateful For
7:00 How Nigerian Girlhood Shaped Her Voice
9:00 Working in Corporate as a Creative
10:30 Womanhood, Sensuality & Owning Confidence
13:00 Reading from Wretched Race to Be Alive
15:00 The Biblical/Quranic Story Behind “Zuleiha & Yusuf”
20:00 Heartbreak, Desire & the Art of Feeling Deeply
22:00 Being a Nigerian Woman Abroad
28:00 10 Things We’re Grateful For
35:00 Affirmations, Prayer & Final Blessings