Title: Struggles of the Women Folk
Author: T. M. Brown
Genre: African American Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women’s Issues
Sold By: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Story Setting: Rural town in Virginia, 1940’s
Pages: 95
ASIN: B00KAOYBWY

From the Author: “Struggles of the Women Folk is based on fictional characters created from stories my grandma shared with me when I was a child. It is the story of Georgie, a young Black girl in the South during the 1940s. I hope that you can appreciate her pain, suffering and betrayal as you travel with her on highs and lows you won’t anticipate. This is the story of the power of a woman’s courage, love, strength and faith that exists within each and every one us, whether we know it or not.”

About the Story: This is Georgie’s story. She is a young Black girl growing up in a small, rural town in Virginia during the 1940s. She experiences great loss in her life—loss of family and friends and loss of her soon-to-be husband. Her spirit wanes but does not falter and remains strong where many with lesser misfortune fold. She has a great belief in God and has evidence of His love and mercy. A very powerful story indeed. The following is an excerpt from the book about Sissy, Georgie’s closest, dearest friend in all the world.

~Excerpt~

Sissy knew she wasn’t pretty, cuz erbody told her so! She had all dem black features that erbody thought was ugly: dark skin, short nappy hair, big eyes, big lips, huge breast and a big butt. None of that mattered to me, cuz she was not just my cousin; she was my best friend.

Her momma and mine couldn’t stand each other, but we didn’t care.

We’d been friends for as long as I could remember. Every day, we walked the five miles to the little shack we called skool, carrying our books and lunch pails. Momma would always have something special in my pail. There would be bread, cheese, jelly and sometimes even a slice of homemade cake. Sissy never had anything good. Most times, she only had a piece of bread or some leftover salt pork.

“Ain’t got no money to be spending on some ugly thang like you,” her momma would say. Her momma hated her. Folks say it was because she didn’t know who Sissy’s daddy was. Her momma was walking home one night when some men jumped her in the woods and made her ‘with child’. That’s what the folks called it in 1944. No one used words like pregnant, at least, not the good girls.

My Thoughts: This was a story of sorrow to me AND one of hope to those who are discriminated against. Its message was loud and clear. We humans can be the most benevolent and caring of God’s creation, but we, conversely, demonize those we don’t understand, who are different than we are whether in social standing, education, economically, or race.

The book didn’t take long to read, yet told a powerful, moving story set in the 1940’s about a young girl, Georgie, and how society impacted her very existence. She was also a woman of strength, coping with the injustices of life.

There are surprising moments in the story, twists not expected which gave it greater depth. None of the characters were flat, but very convincing in dialog and action. Ms. Brown’s continual dialog pattern of black speech gave the story further cadence.

Tina Brown is still a young author but with a powerful voice. I appreciated the chance to read this book as it was given me for an honest review. I don’t believe any review should be given without honesty for readers depend on what we think.

About the Author: Her first book titled A Life Not My Own is the story of her childhood into her teen years. It’s speaks of love, loneliness, loss and achievement.

Her second published work is part of an inspirational story collection titled Just Between Us.

Her most recent publication is Struggles of the Women Folk.

To Connect with the author:
Website: http://www.authortmbrown.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TbrownM