The Good Braider

“ The Good Braider is a masterful triumph of character and story. Terry Farish’s Viola – strong, frank, tenderly wistful, and brave – is so expressive and endearing, that you will never encounter a refugee from anywhere without remembering Viola and her family. This is a novel of deep understanding and unforgettable empathy.” – Naomi Shihab Nye

At The Good Braider blog, read about:  a high school project inspired by a young man from Darfur,  a memoir by a Sudanese college student, Terry’s  journey to write The Good Braider.

Here’s  the Good Braider Brochure _Indiv_Pages

 

 

 

 

Excerpt from the verse “Girl from Juba” -

 

Women come to our courtyard for my mother’s braids.

When I was young my little fingers

rode on her long narrow ones.

Her fingers danced over my cousin’s hair like feathers,

shaping twists and lines with a single tiny bead

slipped on the end.

I learned to braid by feel more than sight.

My mother calls me by two names, Viola, for Jesus,

and Keji, for firstborn girl.

“All men in Sudan will want to marry you” she used to say.

“You are a girl from Juba.”