This is an intriguing and loaded question for a book lover. I have lived many lives as a reader. I’ve been a gang banger, a therapist, a queen, a thief, a cop, a teacher, a cheerleader, a soldier, a slave, a free woman of color during a tumultuous time in history, to name just a few things. I traveled all over the globe. I have lived a thousand lives and experienced adventures overflowing. Reading is such an enriching experience because it allows me to escape and learn simultaneously. I don’t have a favorite life regarding the stories I’ve read, I just enjoyed experiencing it in the moment.
Adventures are always great. The things I learn when I read are priceless. Some things are silly and trivial, while other things are deep and profound. By engaging fully in the story, morphing into the characters and transporting to other continents and worlds, my perspective of the world at large increases and I gain more insight in and about the human experience.
This book is about the different facets of faith. It expounds on how to start our faith walk by having childlike trust and taking baby steps to accomplish that. It even speaks about how to walk in faith when we”ve lost hope to do so.
There were many concepts that spoke to different places that one can experience in their faith walk. The book explores what to do if our “faith has been hijacked.” It also touches on how to move through disappointment when we hope for something great but it doesn’t happen right away and how this can be accepted through God’s timing and through patience. That’s only the tip of the iceberg. It explains what active faith looks like and even what it’s like to have crazy faith. There are many more deep gems that the author shares.
This is a book that is meant to be absorbed and meditated on. I don’t normally reread books, but this is definitely one that requires a reread and then some.
Escaping the shattered home life she shared with her parents, ten-year old Joan relocates to Memphis with her younger sister, Mya and their mother, Miriam. Memphis is quite the experience and wide-eyed, Joan takes it all in, this magical, colorful place.
When they all arrive in Miriam’s childhood home, a home built by love, Joan feels the weight of a thing in this very safe haven they’ve escaped to. Her artwork is her balm for the powerful weight she’s carrying from years ago.
Joan melts into the fabric of her community, which includes people like her sassy aunt August and the ever present elders Miss Dawn and Miss Jade. She is surrounded by love, secrets, and wisdom. It ushers her into an understanding of both her family’s past and her own identity and purpose.
I absolutely loved reading this story. I especially appreciated the lyrical language the author used. It was a well written and poignant story about fierce women and their life choices and journeys. It was a refreshing experience to be overtaken by such a rich story.
Nella Rogers is the only black employee at Wagner, until a new black girl, Hazel McCall enters the scene. Hazel is everything Nella is not. She’s a breathe of fresh air with her bold African-inspired esthetic and fashion and affable ways. She’s a welcoming and friendly face for Nella, who since her beginnings at Wagner, has had to battle microagressions from white people at Wagner all alone. Nella’s only reprieve from shedding the weight of those microagressions was by sharing her true feelings with her good friend, Malaika.
Nella is intrigued and hopeful in Hazel’s presence. Could she finally exhale and enjoy some genuine comradarie with a fellow coworker? Nella shares the inner workings of the office with Hazel, providing to Hazel something she was not privileged to have upon her own arrival at Wagner years ago.
Although, Nella and Hazel are the only black girls employed at Wagner now, years ago there were two black predecessors (author, Diana Gordon and editor, Kendra Rae Phillips) working at Wagner. What were their experiences like? Could they provide some perspective on how to work while black at Wagner?
All seems to be moving along great, until Nella starts receiving threatening notes demanding that she “leave Wagner now”. Nella wonders who is leaving these notes? Even more so, is Hazel also receiving these notes? Nella goes on a quest to learn the truth.
This book was an interesting yet exhausting read for me. I really wanted to connect with the book. There were many characters that showed up frequently throughout the story but there was no character development. I would have liked to see these characters more fleshed out (i.e. Nella, Malaika, Hazel, Jesse Watson, Richard Wagner). When a character did something or a particular viewpoint from a character was introduced it was not expounded on. It confused me often.
I would have liked to see a more concrete and parallel connection shown between Diana and Kendra’s experience against Nella and Hazel’s experience at Wagner. Some positives from the book is that it may spark dialogue about the very real microagressions black people experience being employed in non-diverse work spaces. It also may spark a dialogue among blacks about the different types of black employee and how differences can be embraced and celebrated instead of becoming a breeding ground for unhealthy competition.
I expected much more from the presentation of the story. I do respect the hard work it took for the author to present this body of work. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Daunis Fontaine feels like an outcast amongst her Native American community due to her mixed heritage and extremely pale skin.
She’s 18 and about to start her life’s journey by way of college. She meets an attractive young man named Jaime, who is a player on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Two tragedies occur within her inner circle of family and friends that changes her path. She initially puts college on hold to face these personal setbacks in her life. Both tragedies brings Daunis into an FBI investigation.
Jaime Johnson, a mysterious teenager who blows into town with his Uncle Ron, is not who he appears to be. He takes center stage in Daunis’ orbit. It’s a laborious yet delicate investigation for Daunis. She discovers so much hidden information in the investigation. This journey results in shocking discoveries that Daunis must face head on.
This book moved at an extremely slow pace for me. It did nothing to hold my interest. There were a lot of details in the book that I had difficulty understanding, like the Native American expressions. As a result I found myself lost when I came up on those in the book. This was especially disappointing because I knew the importance of that and was eager to learn.
I really wanted to connect to this story but was unable to. I do however, respect the tireless labor of love ( it took ten years) this author put in to tell this story and represent her culture. That is a huge feat and is to be appreciated. Unfortunately, it didn’t connect for me.
These collection of stories are complex, deep, and reflective. Eula touches on a young woman who blurs the line between basking in her fleshly desires and living as a devout Christian. She’s in total denial of the reality of her relationship with her best friend, Caroletta. In Not Daniel, a married man and a single woman whose mothers are both in hospice care engages in an affair of convenience and provides a temporary reprieve of the heaviness of imminent death lurking around the corner. Peach Cobbler is told from a young girl’s perspective about her mother’s affair with the pastor.
I enjoyed the personal and nuanced touches that Philyaw painted each story with. It is the realization that the face of a thing is not necessarily an absolute truth. The characters were raw, real, and rich in their complexities. My favorites were Dear Sister, Peach Cobbler, How to Make Love to a Physicist, and When Eddie Levert Comes.
‘This is a beautiful collection of stories about the many different facets of love. The first story was bursting with jewels. “One could enjoy but never possess. Experience but not capture” was a description of Osun but as the story progresses, it was also a testament of perspective of Shango’s and Erinle’s feelings about Osun and love in general.
I was not familiar with much of the source material that many of the stories were based off of. However, the richness of love flowed through each story. What I really appreciated about this collection was the beautiful, deep and raw testaments of love. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing these lovely stories.
FOREVER BOOK FEVER 