Title: Birth Days: Stories of Women Who Turned Difficult Beginnings into Glorious Lives
Author: Carol Massey
Print Length: 157 pages
Publisher: Pure Heart Publishing
Publication Date: November 2019
Language: English
Birth Days is exactly what its subtitle implies; it tells the tales of women who overcame adversity to lead illustrious lives. The author presents us to a number of fictional ladies who go through agonizing birth and parenting problems. Dr. Francine Young gave her child up for adoption, Lulu discovered she was expecting only two months before giving birth, Margaret had an affair with Jackson Jones (who was not her husband), and in 2027 Lulu’s grandson was elected president of Howard University.
These women’s struggles, the men they loved, and the people who supported them on their journeys are all things we have witnessed. (Like Aunt Sis, who served as Mary and Connie’s midwife and caregiver). As each lady faces her beast, readers will be interested to see what happens next. Because so many of the stories take place in the 1930s and 1940s, we can consider them historical. I particularly liked the historical tidbits that discussed how African Americans’ lives differed in the North and South.
The first story, “Two Sisters,” with Connie and Mary, Aunt Sis, and Aunt Ailene, is my favorite. I could see the mother’s sorrow over her difficult pregnancy, the family’s terror following the loss of a previous child, and their worry over Mary’s prognosis. I could understand the father’s agony as he constructed the baby’s coffin out of concern that she would pass away like the others. The home had a Color Purple vibe to it when the father returned home with Clara after renovating it later in the story.
This is not a long book, and the stories of the women and their struggles with maternity fit well within today’s society, where women, their efforts, and their lives are at the forefront. I could easily see upgrading this book to five stars with some adjustments to a few errors that impede the reading flow.
Ratings:
Plot Movement / Strength: 3/5
Entertainment Factor: 3/5
Characterization: 3/5
Authenticity / Believable: 4/5
Thought Provoking: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5
Birth Days is available here.
About the Author:
After retiring from a 30+ year career in health and educational administration, Carol Massey had time to reflect on the people, places and events that influenced and inspired her. She wanted to pay homage to some of the women who guided, nurtured and supported her journey from childhood through college, career and life as a single mother of an African American male child. Carol, a California native, now lives in suburban Atlanta with her rescue pup, Ms. Frances.
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