In I Live by the Gun, Joy C. Agwu continues her preoccupation with themes of family, faith, community and the ties that bind, which are much in evidence in her previous work. With I Live by the Gun however, she takes these themes a step further however, championing the cause of individual autonomy, which is invariably threatened when society perceives it to be a threat to its own values and traditions.

This thoughtful and considered account can be read as an affirmation of human rights, as they pertain to women and children in particular, weighed down by the expectations of 'culture and traditions'. Such claims, when invoked in an anachronistic sort way, often serve as a pretext to impose conditions of servitude upon people.