Jerldean Jones was born on February 20th, 1930 in the all black county of Buffalo in Mississippi. Born to a woman who was to busy chasing an unfaithful husband and to a man who was to busy chasing loose women, she settled into life seeing her mother beaten almost daily. One day though, things went a little too far and Jerldean's life changed forever... Now 21 years old, and vowing to never let a man treat her the way her mother was treated, Jerdlean is a woman who's go it all figured out. Or so she thinks....
From the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of the classic, captivating, and scandalous Mama Ruby series, comes a church-going matriarch’s rags to riches Depression era story set in the Deep South. The respectable family she has built means everything to her, and she’ll do anything to keep them. The daughter of a prostitute mother and an alcoholic father, Maggie Franklin knew her only way out was to marry someone upstanding and church-going. Someone like Hubert Wiggins, the most eligible man in Lexington, Alabama—and the son of its most revered preacher. Proper and prosperous, Hubert is glad to finally have a wife, even one with Maggie’s background. For Hubert has a secret he desperately needs to stay hidden. And Maggie’s unexpected charm, elegance, and religious devotion makes her the perfect partner in lies . . . Their surprising union makes the Wigginses the town’s most envied couple—complete with a son, Claude, whom Maggie idolizes. Until he falls in love with the worst possible fiancée. Terrified, Maggie won’t let Daisy destroy her son. And when her employer’s brother sexually harasses her, Maggie knows something needs to be done about him as well. In fact, she realizes there are an awful lot of sinning “disruptive” people who should be eliminated from her perfect world . . . But the more Maggie tries to take control, the more obstacles are thrown in her way. And when it seems like the one person she always expected to be there is starting to drift away, Maggie will play one final, merciless game to secure what she’s fought so hard to earn . . . “Her willingness to do anything for her loved ones is relatable, and the emboldening influence of her desperation and the incremental gravity of her deceptiveness heighten the narrative’s mesmerizing effect.” —Booklist
The journey continues. At the conclusion of The Kept Ones: The Beginning Years, our hearts were left hurting for the beloved members of DeBarge. Their hardscrabble life and fast-paced journey toward destiny continues as the members plunge deep into a world of fame and excess. Seeking to become Motown R & B recording artists, the quintet prepares to leave memories of their abusive childhood behind. The story is eloquently voiced by lone female member, eldest sibling as well as singer/songwriter/producer of “A Dream,” Bunny DeBarge. The Kept Ones: The Fame Years unselfishly leads the reader down memory lane with the ups and downs as well as the highs and lows of the entertainment industry. Bunny DeBarge unapologetically gives her audience the inside scoop into Motown’s mega machine, a true taste of the music industry in the late ’70s and ’80s and what our favorite group was really like when the spotlight finally dimmed. Through her eyes, the reader gets to rub shoulders with legendary rhythm and blues and soul and pop artists backstage and onstage at the infamous Motown 25. The highlight and low point of the quintet’s career came with their biggest hit to date, “Rhythm of the Night.” Using their signature vocals, DeBarge beautifully harmonized the famous words “forget about the worries on your mind.” Yet they had no idea the worries awaiting them once they exited the stage. The Kept Ones: The Fame Years details unforeseen twists and roadblocks along the road of success, which sends them spiraling into a hedonistic lifestyle. Even through hurt and the loss of fame, Bunny DeBarge keeps it 100 percent real by unmasking all pride and ego. With remarkable strength, which has helped her overcome many of life’s obstacles, she continues to bare the depths of her heart, mind, and soul to her treasured and beloved fan base.
"A tragic and heroic story that readers will love." -Lost in a Book Review "...I love you. God help me, but I do." The air lay heavy between them. Her eyes were glossy with moisture, his intense with emotion. "Tell me, if you can, you do not feel the same." He whispered so low it might have been silence, "And make me believe it." Sometimes love crosses boundaries, breaks chains, and demands freedom. The social-order of the eighteen-sixties compels John Richard Sagamore to put aside his negro-pet, Georgia Anne, an accomplished slave. In an attempt to quell his unnatural yearnings, John Richard sets into motion events that divide his family, steal his freedom and threaten his life.
Perhaps the finest soul singer of the rock era-but equally at home singing blues and jazz—Etta James is one of the great women of American music. In Rage to Survive she tells her mesmerizing tale in her uniquely big, bold, and unrepentant voice. Without a trace of self-pity she describes her chaotic world of early R&B, depicts legends like Sam Cooke and Little Richard, details her dependency on drugs and bad men, and unsparingly recounts the golden age of soul, when her “Tell Mama” topped the charts. Rage to Survive is a funky, ribald tale told with unparalleled sass.
The dust cloud rolls in from nowhere, stinging our eyes and muddling our senses. I reach for my baby sister and pull her small body close to me. When the sky clears, we are alone on an empty road with no clue which way to go... Oklahoma, 1935: Fifteen-year-old Faith Wilson takes her little sister Hope's hand. In worn-down shoes, they walk through the choking heat of the Dust Bowl towards a new life in California. But when a storm blows in, the girls are separated from their parents. How will they survive in a place where just the color of their skin puts them in terrible danger? Starving and forced to sleep on the streets, Faith thinks a room in a small boarding house will keep her sister safe. But the glare in the landlady's eye as Faith leaves in search of their parents has her wondering if she's made a dangerous mistake. Who is this woman, and what does she want with sweet little Hope? Trapped, will the sisters ever find their way back to their family? California, present day: Reeling from her divorce and grieving the child she lost, Zoe Edwards feels completely alone in the world. Throwing herself into work cataloguing old photos for an exhibition, she sees an image of a teenage girl who looks exactly like her, and a shiver grips her. Could this girl be a long-lost relation, someone to finally explain the holes in Zoe's family history? Diving into the secrets in her past, Zoe unravels this young girl's heartbreaking story of bravery and sacrifice. But will anything prepare her for the truth about who she is...?
In the segregated South of the mid-1900s, fourteen-year-old Nell bears witness to a world that embraces the oppression of women. She is fascinated with the prospect of being an independent person--but when she turns sixteen, she is married off and brought to the city of Boston as a bride. Nell is a shy girl who must quickly learn how to be a wife and mother. She quickly discovers that she must acquire new skills to navigate the unknown territory of the North, as well as her relationship with her husband, Henry, who is controlling and emotionally abusive. After giving birth to three children, her body begins to fail her and Henry, concerned for her health, pulls away from her physically. But this void of intimacy drives Nell into the arms of another man. It's through her encounter with Charles in the church kitchen, at the point when she is most vulnerable, that Nell finds escape from her depressed life with Henry. The cost though, is another pregnancy. When Charles finds out the baby is his, at first it appears he plans to leave Nell; ultimately, however, his love for her brings him back.
In this new offering from “the king of Christmas fiction” (The New York Times), #1 bestselling author Richard Paul Evans shares a story of heart, loyalty, and hope as he explores the deeper meaning of the holiday season and asks what it truly means to love and forgive. The year is 1975. Elle Sheen—a single mother who is supporting herself and her six-year-old, African-American son, Dylan, as a waitress at the Noel Street Diner—isn’t sure what to make of William Smith when his appearance creates a stir in the small town of Mistletoe, Utah. As their lives unexpectedly entwine, Elle learns that William, a recently returned Vietnam POW, is not only fighting demons from his past, but may also have the answer to her own secret pain—a revelation that culminates in a remarkable act of love and forgiveness.
Rich in detail, deeply insightful, and sensitive to the complexity of the DeBarge family's triumphs and tribulations, Bunny details the definitive story of the DeBarge family and the world that made them. As told through her eyes, The Kept Ones: Volume I, goes far beyond music. Bunny DeBarge perfectly conveys and weaves her soulful history as the lone female in the 80's Motown family super group, DeBarge; from their spectacular rise to the top of R & B music royalty, their fall from grace, to their reemerging careers.
A powerful, moving collection of 170 portraits of Americans and their handwritten statements about what the American dream means to them. Shot by one photographer over twelve years, fifty states, and eighty thousand miles, American Dreams is a poignant, defining look at people from every walk of life and a remarkable exploration of what it means to be an American. Long fascinated by the idea of the “American Dream,” Canadian photographer Ian Brown set out to document, in photographs and words, what that dream means to Americans of all ages, races, identities, classes, religions, and ideologies. Over the course of twelve years, Brown traveled more than eighty thousand miles in an old truck, visiting all fifty states and connecting with hundreds of Americans. He knocked on people's doors; met them at town halls, diners, and factories; and approached them on main streets in small towns. He shot their portraits and asked them to write down their own American dreams. Their dreams and stories—which range from hopeful, moving, and optimistic to defiant, bitter, and heartbreaking—offer a fascinating, unparalleled perspective of the striking diversity and deep nuance of the American experience.
