Brionni Nwosu's "The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter"

Brionni Nwosu is a writer, educator, and joyful creative based in the vibrant city of Nashville, where she lives with her husband and their three children. After more than a decade teaching students and mentoring teachers, she shifted her storytelling craft from a side passion to center stage. A 2021 We Need Diverse Books mentee under Rajani LaRocca, Nwosu writes bold, heartfelt fiction that explores connection, purpose, and what it means to live a life well.

Here she dreamcasts an adaptation of her debut novel, The Wondrous Lives and Loves of Nella Carter:

If The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter were ever adapted for the screen, I would love to see Laura Harrier play Nella. When I was drafting the book, I came across an image of her that immediately clicked for me — something about her poise, the directness of her gaze, and the period nature of her clothes that just felt like Nella. I kept that image nearby as I wrote, especially during the scenes where Nella steps into new eras and new identities.

The novel follows Nella, a woman who should have died young but instead gains immortality after making a bargain with Death, if she can continue to believe that life is worth saving. She moves through cities and centuries — from New Orleans to London to Paris — collecting evidence and writing stories to prove it, with Death testing her throughout time. Along the way, she finds love, community, and moments of wonder that she never imagined she would get to experience. Because the story spans so many eras and emotional tones, I think it would need a lead actress who can play both the grounded, everyday moments and the sweeping, epic ones. Harrier strikes that balance beautifully.

One thing I love about the idea of adapting this story is that Nella has several different loves over the course of her very long life, each in a different era and cultural context. It isn’t a single-love-story arc — it’s an entire rainbow. Because of that, the film or series would offer a great opportunity for multiple actors to shine. There’s her first love, who appears early in the book, but as she moves through time, we see relationships that reflect different backgrounds, identities, and emotional tones. Each love teaches her something new about herself and the world she’s walking through. I think that range would not only enrich the adaptation, but also create space for emerging actors — or established ones looking for something fresh — to step into these roles and really make them their own.

As far as directors, Ava DuVernay is at the top of my list. She brings such care and intention to stories about Black history, identity, and possibility. I can imagine her capturing the visual beauty of the book — the candlelit soirées, the Parisian streets, the quiet moments between characters — while also holding the emotional weight of Nella’s journey. I could also see the story finding a home as a Shondaland project. Shonda Rhimes has a way of creating character-driven dramas that feel both intimate and big, and the success of Bridgerton shows how well her team handles sweeping period pieces with modern flair, bringing them to a wider audience.

In my mind, the best adaptation would be one that blends romance, history, fantasy, and emotional depth — something lush and human and full of feeling. Whoever ends up involved (in my imaginary version of this!), I hope they’d honor what the book is really about and bring Nella and all her loves to the rest of the world.

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The Page 69 Test: The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter.

--Marshal Zeringue