Pushing Through!

It is Black History Month and quite by happenstance, I just read three fiction novels by three black female authors. We will know that fiction often has sections that are a part of the author’s personal journey- whether lived or observed.

Each book touched me in a different way and reminded me of things that I had been through or observed in the lives of those around me. The bottom line is that each work touched me. It took me back to some of the phases of my former selves as I grew and evolved over the years. I patiently gave each author the room and space to tell their stories through their varying techniques.

For we know that writing in itself is therapeutic and writers often write for themselves. It is important to get it out of their systems in order to heal and move forward. And, if by chance a reader can relate to the story, then all the better.

As I read Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia, A Taste for More by Phyllis R. Dixon and Yesterday’s Promise by Vanessa Miller, each took me back down memory lane in some way. I was reminded of the old commercial which sang, “I Haven’t Got Time for the Pain,” as I read about the relationships that were engulfed in pain, hurt and unspeakable betrayals. It made me think of the crap that I too had to put on the back burner and focus on survival. I had watched too many dear ones fall by the wayside because they could not shake off the disappointments.

As I read, I silently shook my head and thought, “Been there; done that.” Life is a many splendored thing and yes, we even get splinters along the way. We just have to pause, pull them out, add some salve or balm ,push through and most pointedly deal with daily issues at hand. And as my father used to say, “Let the chips fall where they may!”

Lynn M.
February 10, 2025