Sherrod Village A Memoir Barbara W Lewis 9780990398905 Books
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In 1982, Barbara Williams Lewis became a thirty-seven year old runaway. She moved to Los Angeles with her three children. Born black and poor in Wilson, North Carolina, Lewis chronicles the events of her life that led to her self-imposed exile and her struggles to go beyond it. She tells her story with honesty, humor and raw emotion. She speaks freely of her mistakes and her political views about money, religion, rape, incest, corruption and domestic violence, and she shows her ability to triumph over poverty, homelessness and pain. Lewis has a captivating voice that lures you into the work and forces you to become an active participant in the development of her story.
Sherrod Village A Memoir Barbara W Lewis 9780990398905 Books
This memoir glosses over nothing. It is a journey with an extraordinary, strong-willed, spirit-filled African-American woman through the decades that took her from the Deep South to L.A. to Texas. Be prepared to suffer and to think. Her writing masterfully shares her world so that the reader walks through the valleys with her and ultimately triumphs with her. I am a white professor. I needed to read this as a person, as a teacher, and as a community activist. And I recommend it for all who fit any one of those categories.Product details
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Tags : Sherrod Village: A Memoir [Barbara W. Lewis] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In 1982, Barbara Williams Lewis became a thirty-seven year old runaway. She moved to Los Angeles with her three children. Born black and poor in Wilson,Barbara W. Lewis,Sherrod Village: A Memoir,Barbara Williams Lewis,0990398900,Biography & Autobiography Personal Memoirs,Biography Autobiography,Memoirs,Personal Memoirs
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Sherrod Village A Memoir Barbara W Lewis 9780990398905 Books Reviews
Barbara Lewis' story is brutally honest and takes the reader through her life without fear of judgement. The life of this marvelous woman will make you cringe, cry, and rage at the fates and mankind. And when Barbara steps triumphantly up and fulfills her goal, you will cry with joy. It is tough to read this book and then look the author in the eye, thinking, "I know things about you that I wouldn't even dare to tell my best friend" and feeling empowered because the honesty makes you feel that you could tell your secrets, too. My favorite moments came when Barbara looks at herself, owns her faults, stares them down, and does not let any mistake or past event define who she is as a person, instead she uses her past-the good, bad, and ugly- and betters herself in spite of everything. Who among us wouldn't want a blueprint to do the same thing?
In her memoir, Barbara tells the reader that she sees herself in the fictional characters of multiple novels. Honestly, while reading her memoir, I couldn't help thinking that Dr. Lewis is a little bit of Beneatha and Ruth, Ceily and Shug, and Janie and Nanny all of which I felt made her lovable, driven, victimized but never truly a victim...mostly, strong and multi-faceted... And the best character of all, herself.
In her memoir Sherrod Village, Barbara Williams Lewis presents the reader with a fascinating if disturbing portrait of what it is like to grow up poor, black, and female in the American Deep South. The author, currently a Professor of English and Assistant Dean of Academics at Austin Community College, is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Southern California, where she earned her BA, Masters and PhD degrees before relocating to Austin, TX. Dr Lewis' autobiographical work is taught as a text in her literature classes, and it is an altogether gripping read.
Clocking in at less than two hundred pages, this slim volume chronicles her early struggles from a precocious three-year-old, to adolescence and adulthood under circumstances that would have crushed a lesser being. In the opening paragraph she perfectly recalls the mindset of the child she was with her innocent and simple language
"I am three years old. I am pretty. I have long hair and I only want to wear three plaits and a bang. Mary Joyce likes to put my hair into a whole lot of little plaits like the kids with the nappy hair. But I don't want anybody to see me look ugly like that so I fight with her. I scream until Mama takes the comb and brush and does my hair herself. Mama thinks I am pretty too. She never tells me that, but I hear her tell Miss Louise...Mama is always bragging about how smart I am...I can count to one hundred in French. We go everywhere together, especially to the Ritz theater on Friday nights when Daddy is at his poker game."
Neatly organized into three distinct sections entitled "Bondage," "Escape," and "Freedom," Dr Lewis' narrative at times recalls both The Color Purple and I know Why the Caged Bird Sings, with its unsparing view of the personal landscape of domestic abuse, assault, incest, and poverty into which she came of age. The author's style of writing is clear and straightforward, with no attempts at sanitizing the often horrendous passages in her life, and demonstrates a refreshing absence of self-pity. Authentic and rigorously honest, her mesmerizing story is frequently laced with dry humor, as in this incident with her wayward father
"...[O] one day when I was four, he took me to Mrs. Brodie's house when Mr. Brodie was out of town. He bought me an ice cream sandwich...and left me on the front porch to eat it while he went inside...When we got home, I told Mama about my day. Daddy stopped taking me with him after that."
Though largely focusing on her immediate family--the handsome volatile father who routinely beats his wife, the gun-toting grandmother who runs the local brothel, the older male cousin who sexually molests her--she also provides a memorable portrait of her home town of Wilson, North Carolina down to the smallest details; the hard-packed dirt alleys, the walkways of the shotgun houses lined with bottles buried in the ground, the railroad tracks that rigidly divided their world into White and Colored.
Switching seamlessly between an intimately personal voice and objective narration, Dr. Lewis describes her fierce desire for education and independence in an era when these are luxuries for women, especially women of color; and all of this within the context of a life that includes early marriage, children, and hardscrabble careers. Despite setbacks--cheating husbands, faithless friends, and ever-elusive financial security, the author never degenerates into blame or despair. Filled with insight and often brutal honesty, it is an inspiring glimpse into a heart that keeps its eyes on the prize and simply refuses to give up.
Like an American pilgrimage, her story spans the United States. Living variously in the South and Northeast, the author finally flees her abusive marriage and stagnant life at the age of thirty-seven. This self-described 'runaway' travels across the country with children in tow and less than fifty dollars to her name, to find refuge in California. Living in shelters, missions, and the less than savory parts of the City of Angels, she survives on welfare and holds her family together, despite all the odds.
Determined to make a better life for her family and herself, absolutely focused on acquiring the education she has always dreamed of, she draws into her orbit an extraordinary cast of characters Bonnie, the unscrupulous landlord who steals what little support has been offered by a kindly correspondent; Monsignor John Languille, a bona-fide saint, supporter, and true friend; the writer T.C. Boyle, who becomes her mentor; and Henry, the smiling co-worker who violently rapes her after being offered shelter in her apartment for the night. Against the backdrop of an unwanted pregnancy, racial turmoil, and the endless tangle of nightmare bureaucracies, the author finds her voice through the voices of others Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker. She seeks out the great writers of the African-American woman's experience, and as she explores their struggles fictional and true, discovers her own methods for coping with outrageous fortune. Dr Lewis reflects
"People frequently talk about the Strong Black Woman. We are the only group on the planet that is not allowed to be weak...but let me tell you this there is nothing wrong with crying...tears are water...water is heavy; if you hold on to it, trying to be strong, it will weigh you down. But if you shed those tears you can soar."
By turns appalling and gasp-out-loud funny, this inspirational autobiography compels the reader to turn just one more page to find out what happens next. When things seem as though they cannot possibly get any worse, they do; and when the darkness threatens to annihilate all, small and perfect miracles emerge from the shadows. A rare window into the soul of a survivor, "Sherrod Village," with its true and unflinching voice, sings like a heartfelt prayer.
Two things I hope others will find helpful with Sherrod Village; a book you will want to read, and not another poor ol' me story.
I have a thing when it comes to reading books, it is upsetting to some people but oh well. If a book does not make me want to turn to the next page, then I won't. I have been 3/4 of the way through a story and didn't get that 'what's on the next page' feeling ... that's it, I'm done. Yes I just stopped reading. I don't see the point of continuing on if I don't have the desire to even see what is on the next page. So most of you can see where I am going with this, I couldn't read the pages fast enough just to get to the next page. The first person style helped me to easily connect with Barbara, and thus, I formed a bond quickly with her in her story. With me newly formed friendship, me and Barbara walked the path of her life with all of its ups and downs. While it was certainly a bumpy ride to say the least, it was nonetheless a ride that I am grateful of being on
This is not a book if you are looking for a pity party. LOL! Not even close to a pity party. Sherrod Village is about the celebration that is life. (If I am honest here, at times a part of me started to become jealous of how much she was living her life.) Yeah, there are some pretty raw and rough paragraphs in the story, but these are a part of life. These rough moments may have been big for Miss Lewis, but if you look at how she came out from the other side you'll see why some are celebrations and some can make people a little jealous. Barbara doesn't ask us to look at her as a woman who made it through so much adversity but as a successful woman who may have had some rough spots along the way.
This is an amazing read from start to finish!
This memoir glosses over nothing. It is a journey with an extraordinary, strong-willed, spirit-filled African-American woman through the decades that took her from the Deep South to L.A. to Texas. Be prepared to suffer and to think. Her writing masterfully shares her world so that the reader walks through the valleys with her and ultimately triumphs with her. I am a white professor. I needed to read this as a person, as a teacher, and as a community activist. And I recommend it for all who fit any one of those categories.
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