Author: O’dera Ayodele
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1546245464
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
In search of Identity explores the origins of the Black race clarifying the true identity of our people. The book uncovers the circular journey of a people who are doomed to repeat enslavement or ultimate destruction if they do not awaken to the truths about themselves. The author has always since childhood had a interest in the Whys of racism. Putting life aside to self- reach knowledge to find the truth of Why does racism exist? Its time to remove the blinders. This book has You Tube references so the reader can better understand the topics addressed. This book is highly recommended for teenagers because the educational system does not address Black history and religion in the proper context.
Black Love Who Stole the Soul?
Author: O’dera Ayodele
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1546245464
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
In search of Identity explores the origins of the Black race clarifying the true identity of our people. The book uncovers the circular journey of a people who are doomed to repeat enslavement or ultimate destruction if they do not awaken to the truths about themselves. The author has always since childhood had a interest in the Whys of racism. Putting life aside to self- reach knowledge to find the truth of Why does racism exist? Its time to remove the blinders. This book has You Tube references so the reader can better understand the topics addressed. This book is highly recommended for teenagers because the educational system does not address Black history and religion in the proper context.
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1546245464
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
In search of Identity explores the origins of the Black race clarifying the true identity of our people. The book uncovers the circular journey of a people who are doomed to repeat enslavement or ultimate destruction if they do not awaken to the truths about themselves. The author has always since childhood had a interest in the Whys of racism. Putting life aside to self- reach knowledge to find the truth of Why does racism exist? Its time to remove the blinders. This book has You Tube references so the reader can better understand the topics addressed. This book is highly recommended for teenagers because the educational system does not address Black history and religion in the proper context.
Who Stole the Soul? the Weaponization of Hip Hop
Author: Bernard O Creamer, Jr
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578699639
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
I was a 7-year-old Chicago kid when Hip Hop was born in the Bronx, NY projects. .it had been around for some years getting its legs under it before I got a taste of it around junior high school...being from Chicago, my foundation is house music, but when I heard the Ultramagnetic MCs, I was sold...Hip Hop is a part of my being, I was raised on it, and it has been the soundtrack for some of the best moments/years of my life. .'til death do us part. .Hip Hop married lyricism, djing, graffiti art, breakdancing, and later, KNOwledge of Self. .every component equally as essential to the vibe. .over the years, as with other music forms created by African people, we've witnessed Hip Hop being compromised, coopted, and commercialized. .it has been whittled down gradually to something that is unrecognizable to its beginnings. .the profit motive has crept in along with the overarching agendas that anchor Black people to that bottom rung on that capitalist/classist ladder. .rich or poor, we are all being targeted with WAR. .one of our great ancestors, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, put it best, "music is the weapon". .Hip Hop was OUR weapon. .today though, Hip Hop is no longer a tool our creative linguists use to teach and reach us. .the consciousness has been evaporated and the messages have drastically changed. .from Black culture, Hip Hop is somewhat estranged. .I still LOVE her. .WE still LOVE her. .WE still want Hip Hop to return to us WHOLE. .food for US. .with a SOUL. .
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578699639
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
I was a 7-year-old Chicago kid when Hip Hop was born in the Bronx, NY projects. .it had been around for some years getting its legs under it before I got a taste of it around junior high school...being from Chicago, my foundation is house music, but when I heard the Ultramagnetic MCs, I was sold...Hip Hop is a part of my being, I was raised on it, and it has been the soundtrack for some of the best moments/years of my life. .'til death do us part. .Hip Hop married lyricism, djing, graffiti art, breakdancing, and later, KNOwledge of Self. .every component equally as essential to the vibe. .over the years, as with other music forms created by African people, we've witnessed Hip Hop being compromised, coopted, and commercialized. .it has been whittled down gradually to something that is unrecognizable to its beginnings. .the profit motive has crept in along with the overarching agendas that anchor Black people to that bottom rung on that capitalist/classist ladder. .rich or poor, we are all being targeted with WAR. .one of our great ancestors, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, put it best, "music is the weapon". .Hip Hop was OUR weapon. .today though, Hip Hop is no longer a tool our creative linguists use to teach and reach us. .the consciousness has been evaporated and the messages have drastically changed. .from Black culture, Hip Hop is somewhat estranged. .I still LOVE her. .WE still LOVE her. .WE still want Hip Hop to return to us WHOLE. .food for US. .with a SOUL. .
It's All Love
Author: Marita Golden
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767931580
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 432
Book Description
In It’s All Love, Black writers celebrate the complexity, power, danger, and glory of love in all its many forms: romantic, familial, communal, and sacred. Editor Marita Golden recounts the morning she woke up certain that she would meet her soul mate in “My Own Happy Ending”; memoirist Reginald Dwayne Betts, in a piece he calls “Learning the Name Dad,” writes stirringly about serving time in prison and how that transformed his life for the better; New York Times bestselling author Pearl Cleage is at her best in the delicate, touching “Missing You”; award-winning author David Anthony Durham enraptures readers with his “An Act of Faith”; New York Times bestselling author L. A. Banks is both funny and wise in her beautiful essay on discovering love as a child, “Two Cents and a Question.” And the poetry of love is here, too—from Gwendolyn Brooks’s classic “Black Wedding Song” to works by Nikki Giovanni, E. Ethelbert Miller, and Kwame Alexander. It’s All Love is a dazzling, delightfully diverse exploration of the wonderful gift of love.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767931580
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 432
Book Description
In It’s All Love, Black writers celebrate the complexity, power, danger, and glory of love in all its many forms: romantic, familial, communal, and sacred. Editor Marita Golden recounts the morning she woke up certain that she would meet her soul mate in “My Own Happy Ending”; memoirist Reginald Dwayne Betts, in a piece he calls “Learning the Name Dad,” writes stirringly about serving time in prison and how that transformed his life for the better; New York Times bestselling author Pearl Cleage is at her best in the delicate, touching “Missing You”; award-winning author David Anthony Durham enraptures readers with his “An Act of Faith”; New York Times bestselling author L. A. Banks is both funny and wise in her beautiful essay on discovering love as a child, “Two Cents and a Question.” And the poetry of love is here, too—from Gwendolyn Brooks’s classic “Black Wedding Song” to works by Nikki Giovanni, E. Ethelbert Miller, and Kwame Alexander. It’s All Love is a dazzling, delightfully diverse exploration of the wonderful gift of love.
Soul Food Love
Author: Alice Randall
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0804137935
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A mother-daughter duo reclaims and redefines soul food by mining the traditions of four generations of black women and creating 80 healthy recipes to help everyone live longer and stronger. NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER • “Soul Food Love has preserved our traditions but reinvented how they’re prepared. Its focus on health is a godsend.”—Viola Davis “This beautifully written compendium is literary history, cookbook, family album, motherwit, daughter-grace, and the gospel truth. I’ll be cooking from this book for years to come.”—Elizabeth Alexander, poet and professor After bestselling author Alice Randall penned an op-ed in the New York Times titled “Black Women and Fat,” chronicling her quest to be “the last fat black woman” in her family, she turned to her daughter, Caroline Randall Williams, for help. Together they overhauled the way they cook and eat, translating recipes and traditions handed down by generations of black women into easy, affordable, and healthful—yet still indulgent—dishes, such as Peanut Chicken Stew, Red Bean and Brown Rice Creole Salad, Fiery Green Beans, and Sinless Sweet Potato Pie. Soul Food Love relates the authors’ fascinating family history, which mirrors that of much of black America in the twentieth century, explores the often-fraught relationship African American women have had with food, and forges a powerful new way forward that honors their cultural and culinary heritage.
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0804137935
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A mother-daughter duo reclaims and redefines soul food by mining the traditions of four generations of black women and creating 80 healthy recipes to help everyone live longer and stronger. NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER • “Soul Food Love has preserved our traditions but reinvented how they’re prepared. Its focus on health is a godsend.”—Viola Davis “This beautifully written compendium is literary history, cookbook, family album, motherwit, daughter-grace, and the gospel truth. I’ll be cooking from this book for years to come.”—Elizabeth Alexander, poet and professor After bestselling author Alice Randall penned an op-ed in the New York Times titled “Black Women and Fat,” chronicling her quest to be “the last fat black woman” in her family, she turned to her daughter, Caroline Randall Williams, for help. Together they overhauled the way they cook and eat, translating recipes and traditions handed down by generations of black women into easy, affordable, and healthful—yet still indulgent—dishes, such as Peanut Chicken Stew, Red Bean and Brown Rice Creole Salad, Fiery Green Beans, and Sinless Sweet Potato Pie. Soul Food Love relates the authors’ fascinating family history, which mirrors that of much of black America in the twentieth century, explores the often-fraught relationship African American women have had with food, and forges a powerful new way forward that honors their cultural and culinary heritage.
Sweet Potato Soul
Author: Jenné Claiborne
Publisher: Harmony
ISBN: 0451498895
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
100 vegan recipes that riff on Southern cooking in surprising and delicious ways, beautifully illustrated with full-color photography. Jenné Claiborne grew up in Atlanta eating classic Soul Food—fluffy biscuits, smoky sausage, Nana's sweet potato pie—but thought she'd have to give all that up when she went vegan. As a chef, she instead spent years tweaking and experimenting to infuse plant-based, life-giving, glow-worthy foods with the flavor and depth that feeds the soul. In Sweet Potato Soul, Jenné revives the long tradition of using fresh, local ingredients creatively in dishes like Coconut Collard Salad and Fried Cauliflower Chicken. She improvises new flavors in Peach Date BBQ Jackfruit Sliders and Sweet Potato-Tahini Cookies. She celebrates the plant-based roots of the cuisine in Bootylicious Gumbo and savory-sweet Georgia Watermelon & Peach Salad. And she updates classics with Jalapeño Hush Puppies, and her favorite, Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls. Along the way, Jenné explores the narratives surrounding iconic and beloved soul food recipes, as well as their innate nutritional benefits—you've heard that dandelion, mustard, and turnip greens, okra, and black eyed peas are nutrition superstars, but here's how to make them super tasty, too. From decadent pound cakes and ginger-kissed fruit cobblers to smokey collard greens, amazing crabcakes and the most comforting sweet potato pie you'll ever taste, these better-than-the-original takes on crave-worthy dishes are good for your health, heart, and soul.
Publisher: Harmony
ISBN: 0451498895
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
100 vegan recipes that riff on Southern cooking in surprising and delicious ways, beautifully illustrated with full-color photography. Jenné Claiborne grew up in Atlanta eating classic Soul Food—fluffy biscuits, smoky sausage, Nana's sweet potato pie—but thought she'd have to give all that up when she went vegan. As a chef, she instead spent years tweaking and experimenting to infuse plant-based, life-giving, glow-worthy foods with the flavor and depth that feeds the soul. In Sweet Potato Soul, Jenné revives the long tradition of using fresh, local ingredients creatively in dishes like Coconut Collard Salad and Fried Cauliflower Chicken. She improvises new flavors in Peach Date BBQ Jackfruit Sliders and Sweet Potato-Tahini Cookies. She celebrates the plant-based roots of the cuisine in Bootylicious Gumbo and savory-sweet Georgia Watermelon & Peach Salad. And she updates classics with Jalapeño Hush Puppies, and her favorite, Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls. Along the way, Jenné explores the narratives surrounding iconic and beloved soul food recipes, as well as their innate nutritional benefits—you've heard that dandelion, mustard, and turnip greens, okra, and black eyed peas are nutrition superstars, but here's how to make them super tasty, too. From decadent pound cakes and ginger-kissed fruit cobblers to smokey collard greens, amazing crabcakes and the most comforting sweet potato pie you'll ever taste, these better-than-the-original takes on crave-worthy dishes are good for your health, heart, and soul.
At Night All Blood Is Black
Author: David Diop
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374720479
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
*WINNER OF THE 2021 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE* *ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021* Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction Shortlisted for the 2022 DUBLIN Literary Award "Astonishingly good." —Lily Meyer, NPR "So incantatory and visceral I don’t think I’ll ever forget it." —Ali Smith, The Guardian | Best Books of 2020 One of The Wall Street Journal's 11 best books of the fall | One of The A.V. Club's fifteen best books of 2020 |A Sunday Times best book of the year Selected by students across France to win the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens, David Diop’s English-language, historical fiction debut At Night All Blood is Black is a “powerful, hypnotic, and dark novel” (Livres Hebdo) of terror and transformation in the trenches of the First World War. Alfa Ndiaye is a Senegalese man who, never before having left his village, finds himself fighting as a so-called “Chocolat” soldier with the French army during World War I. When his friend Mademba Diop, in the same regiment, is seriously injured in battle, Diop begs Alfa to kill him and spare him the pain of a long and agonizing death in No Man’s Land. Unable to commit this mercy killing, madness creeps into Alfa’s mind as he comes to see this refusal as a cruel moment of cowardice. Anxious to avenge the death of his friend and find forgiveness for himself, he begins a macabre ritual: every night he sneaks across enemy lines to find and murder a blue-eyed German soldier, and every night he returns to base, unharmed, with the German’s severed hand. At first his comrades look at Alfa’s deeds with admiration, but soon rumors begin to circulate that this super soldier isn’t a hero, but a sorcerer, a soul-eater. Plans are hatched to get Alfa away from the front, and to separate him from his growing collection of hands, but how does one reason with a demon, and how far will Alfa go to make amends to his dead friend? Peppered with bullets and black magic, this remarkable novel fills in a forgotten chapter in the history of World War I. Blending oral storytelling traditions with the gritty, day-to-day, journalistic horror of life in the trenches, David Diop's At Night All Blood is Black is a dazzling tale of a man’s descent into madness.
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374720479
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 160
Book Description
*WINNER OF THE 2021 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE* *ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021* Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction Shortlisted for the 2022 DUBLIN Literary Award "Astonishingly good." —Lily Meyer, NPR "So incantatory and visceral I don’t think I’ll ever forget it." —Ali Smith, The Guardian | Best Books of 2020 One of The Wall Street Journal's 11 best books of the fall | One of The A.V. Club's fifteen best books of 2020 |A Sunday Times best book of the year Selected by students across France to win the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens, David Diop’s English-language, historical fiction debut At Night All Blood is Black is a “powerful, hypnotic, and dark novel” (Livres Hebdo) of terror and transformation in the trenches of the First World War. Alfa Ndiaye is a Senegalese man who, never before having left his village, finds himself fighting as a so-called “Chocolat” soldier with the French army during World War I. When his friend Mademba Diop, in the same regiment, is seriously injured in battle, Diop begs Alfa to kill him and spare him the pain of a long and agonizing death in No Man’s Land. Unable to commit this mercy killing, madness creeps into Alfa’s mind as he comes to see this refusal as a cruel moment of cowardice. Anxious to avenge the death of his friend and find forgiveness for himself, he begins a macabre ritual: every night he sneaks across enemy lines to find and murder a blue-eyed German soldier, and every night he returns to base, unharmed, with the German’s severed hand. At first his comrades look at Alfa’s deeds with admiration, but soon rumors begin to circulate that this super soldier isn’t a hero, but a sorcerer, a soul-eater. Plans are hatched to get Alfa away from the front, and to separate him from his growing collection of hands, but how does one reason with a demon, and how far will Alfa go to make amends to his dead friend? Peppered with bullets and black magic, this remarkable novel fills in a forgotten chapter in the history of World War I. Blending oral storytelling traditions with the gritty, day-to-day, journalistic horror of life in the trenches, David Diop's At Night All Blood is Black is a dazzling tale of a man’s descent into madness.
To My Soul
Author: Breyonnah Blount
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 1496910753
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 155
Book Description
Look through the window, see into my soul. Everyone comes of age in different ways. Through the abandonment, abuse, neglect, uncertainty, longing, and finally realization; step into my world. From the depression that resulted from the abandonment of my birth parents, to my sister being kicked out of the house at the age of 13, the depression that soon followed. My insecurities are on full display with my first love, to my marriage at 21 and the birth of my son at 22. The confusion of falling for a friend and having the realization that I would forever be trapped. Watch the growth of my journey to now and seeing the world for the first time and finally finding the love of my life. My life, my soul told through poetry. See through my eyes and into my soul.
Publisher: Author House
ISBN: 1496910753
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 155
Book Description
Look through the window, see into my soul. Everyone comes of age in different ways. Through the abandonment, abuse, neglect, uncertainty, longing, and finally realization; step into my world. From the depression that resulted from the abandonment of my birth parents, to my sister being kicked out of the house at the age of 13, the depression that soon followed. My insecurities are on full display with my first love, to my marriage at 21 and the birth of my son at 22. The confusion of falling for a friend and having the realization that I would forever be trapped. Watch the growth of my journey to now and seeing the world for the first time and finally finding the love of my life. My life, my soul told through poetry. See through my eyes and into my soul.
#blacklove
Author: Tapo Chimbganda
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793613834
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 157
Book Description
This edited volume qualifies black love on the basis of black identity. Much of what is experienced of blackness as an identity arises out of a juxtaposition to other races and identities, particularly whiteness. The contributors in this volume resist the idea of black love in reference to whiteness by exposing the hidden toxicities that come with a focus on whiteness. They reflect on intricate and intimate relationship dynamics that arise out of a violent and challenging past between Black women and Black men.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793613834
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 157
Book Description
This edited volume qualifies black love on the basis of black identity. Much of what is experienced of blackness as an identity arises out of a juxtaposition to other races and identities, particularly whiteness. The contributors in this volume resist the idea of black love in reference to whiteness by exposing the hidden toxicities that come with a focus on whiteness. They reflect on intricate and intimate relationship dynamics that arise out of a violent and challenging past between Black women and Black men.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: I'm Speaking Now
Author: Amy Newmark
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1611590833
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
Now more than ever, the strong, independent, courageous voices of Black women are being heard loud and clear. They share their truth about life, love, family, faith and hope in these 101 personal stories and 12 powerful poems. The world is listening. Black women are speaking, for themselves and their families, and everyone is listening. This unique collection of stories is for readers of all colors, not just the Black community, as these contributors share their dreams, their triumphs and failures, and their lives, which have unique challenges and hardships that are not well understood by others. Readers of color will recognize their own struggles in these pages, and white readers will benefit from an inside view of Black life in America, Canada and beyond. These 101 stories and 12 poems, written by and for Black women, cover it all—from fierce to funny—about hopes and dreams, fears and realities, identity and self-discovery, family, children, even hair. Each one starts with a quote connecting you to a wellspring of wisdom from historical and contemporary Black women. “We are speaking now,” says Breena Clarke, coauthor of this book. “Because the moment is now, in this collection of first-person narratives. This is an opportunity to hear the often silenced voices of Black women, writing for you and because of you. These are stories of universal human experiences but also reflect the specificity of Black women’s lives in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.” Everyone will benefit from this look into the culture, wisdom, and everyday reality of the Black experience, with 11 chapters, each starting with a powerful poem: • The Shoulders We Stand On • Where We Come From • Everyday Struggles • Stand Up, Speak Out • Raising Our Children • Family & Food for the Soul • Taking Care of Me • Sisters, Friends • Loving Black Men • Identity & Roots • Self-Discovery Chicken Soup for the Soul books are 100% made in the USA and each book includes stories from as diverse a group of writers as possible. Chicken Soup for the Soul solicits and publishes stories from the LGBTQ community and from people of all ethnicities, nationalities, and religions.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1611590833
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
Now more than ever, the strong, independent, courageous voices of Black women are being heard loud and clear. They share their truth about life, love, family, faith and hope in these 101 personal stories and 12 powerful poems. The world is listening. Black women are speaking, for themselves and their families, and everyone is listening. This unique collection of stories is for readers of all colors, not just the Black community, as these contributors share their dreams, their triumphs and failures, and their lives, which have unique challenges and hardships that are not well understood by others. Readers of color will recognize their own struggles in these pages, and white readers will benefit from an inside view of Black life in America, Canada and beyond. These 101 stories and 12 poems, written by and for Black women, cover it all—from fierce to funny—about hopes and dreams, fears and realities, identity and self-discovery, family, children, even hair. Each one starts with a quote connecting you to a wellspring of wisdom from historical and contemporary Black women. “We are speaking now,” says Breena Clarke, coauthor of this book. “Because the moment is now, in this collection of first-person narratives. This is an opportunity to hear the often silenced voices of Black women, writing for you and because of you. These are stories of universal human experiences but also reflect the specificity of Black women’s lives in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.” Everyone will benefit from this look into the culture, wisdom, and everyday reality of the Black experience, with 11 chapters, each starting with a powerful poem: • The Shoulders We Stand On • Where We Come From • Everyday Struggles • Stand Up, Speak Out • Raising Our Children • Family & Food for the Soul • Taking Care of Me • Sisters, Friends • Loving Black Men • Identity & Roots • Self-Discovery Chicken Soup for the Soul books are 100% made in the USA and each book includes stories from as diverse a group of writers as possible. Chicken Soup for the Soul solicits and publishes stories from the LGBTQ community and from people of all ethnicities, nationalities, and religions.
Black Eyed Peas for the Soul
Author: Donna Marie Williams
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439123764
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
To tell a story well, you have to live a story well -- with courage, persistence, and faith that everything's going to turn out all right. Black-Eyed Peas for the Soul is a collection of stories that reveals universal themes, as well as the unique perspectives of African Americans. The first collection of its kind, Black-Eyed Peas for the Soul boldly dispels the myth of a homogeneous Black culture. Diverse voices -- including those of Zora Neale Hurston, Dawn Turner Trice, and Frederick Douglass -- tell our stories of beginnings, wisdom, patience, hard work, excellence, joy, and miracles. Stories about love, healing, and atonement are told with insight, humor, and gritty honesty. Arising from these distinct voices is the call for hope. Enjoy these stories and let them guide your soul to a place where you can find solace and draw nourishment, a place that can warm and soothe you, like a bowl of black-eyed peas.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439123764
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
To tell a story well, you have to live a story well -- with courage, persistence, and faith that everything's going to turn out all right. Black-Eyed Peas for the Soul is a collection of stories that reveals universal themes, as well as the unique perspectives of African Americans. The first collection of its kind, Black-Eyed Peas for the Soul boldly dispels the myth of a homogeneous Black culture. Diverse voices -- including those of Zora Neale Hurston, Dawn Turner Trice, and Frederick Douglass -- tell our stories of beginnings, wisdom, patience, hard work, excellence, joy, and miracles. Stories about love, healing, and atonement are told with insight, humor, and gritty honesty. Arising from these distinct voices is the call for hope. Enjoy these stories and let them guide your soul to a place where you can find solace and draw nourishment, a place that can warm and soothe you, like a bowl of black-eyed peas.