A Better Tomorrow: Life Lessons in Hope and Strength

by Mina Smallman

'No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.' - Maya Angelou'I'd walk across hot coals to speak alongside Mina Smallman... An amazing woman' - Jess Phillips, MP'Mina Smallman is as tough as she is warm' - GuardianMina Smallman has lived through the unimaginable. On Saturday 6 June 2020, her daughters, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, were killed in a park by a male stranger as they celebrated Bibaa's birthday.Mina has been fighting for justice ever since - for her daughters, and for the rest of us, by challenging the toxic culture in the Metropolitan Police and calling out the wider institutional misogyny, racism and classism in Britain. Now, she tells her story for the first time. Framed by Mina's experience of losing her two daughters, Bibaa and Nicole, A Better Tomorrow reflects on the lessons in strength, forgiveness and hope that life has taught her - from her difficult childhood, to her embrace of motherhood, her time as a schoolteacher, and then as the first woman of colour to be an Archdeacon in the Church of England.Told through grief and with compassion, humour and love, this deeply personal memoir is Mina's beacon of hope.

Genres: Nonfiction

248 pages, Hardcover

First published June 8, 2023

Reviews

[Lucy Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dad always has the best books lying around so I picked this up yesterday morning and finished it in the day! A truly heartbreaking story, made worse by structural misogyny and racism. A real insight into how much the world needs more activists like Mina but acknowledging the fight is truly exhausting.

[Beverley Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A terrible true story that you think you hadn't heard about but when you learn the details you remember that you did. This story of a family that lost not one but two daughter to a fatal knife attack by a stranger during on of the world most dangerous epidemics and the shock incidents that occurred during the investigation and crime. This mother is not an author but a story teller in her words. This is an easy read but shocking. She collates stories of her life and how it comes back to not only help her deal with the tragedy but how she deals with the murder and the institutions that let her down.

[Niamh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible book!
This was an amazing listen. I feel like I could listen again straight away and hear more again in it as it was incredibly rich in it's storytelling and wisdom. Thank you Mina

[Jessica Verner · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an amazing woman! What a life.
A particularly good read for those passionate about the pertinent issue of femicide.

[Marie (UK) · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a very powerful book not only for the events it describes but also for how the author tries to change perceptions and the way such events are viewed.

[Mrs.w2021 · Rating 3 out of 5]

very hard read but worth, it i would recommend a stress ball, tissues and regular breaks, this book will make you feel every emotion.