Motherwit: tributes to mothers, grandmothers and surrogate mothers - Ebony Book Shelf - Bibliography

MAY is about motherwit, and with the national Mother's Day holiday comes several books paying tribute to that central person in everyone's life--mother. From sentimental memoirs to dark and funny comedies, a bevy of new books celebrate mother and mothering by paying tribute to mothers, their hats, cooking and advice.

In ALWAYS WEAR JOY: MY MOTHER BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL (HarperCollins, $24.95) Susan Fales-Hill offers a proud daughter memoir of the author's life with her mother, Josephine Premice, one of the pioneering Black Broadway performers. The author says she drew on her mother's strength when she went on to confront challenges in her own career as a television writer in Hollywood. Sometimes touching, sometimes funny, this family memoir will resonate with most readers. Fales-Hill is an award-winning television writer and producer who has worked on The Cosby Show, A Different World, Linc's and Suddenly Susan.

In AGE AIN'T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER: BLACK WOMEN EXPLORE MIDLIFE (BEACON PRESS, $14) edited by Carleen Brice, 45 Black women writers discuss midlife in the first anthology of its kind. In essays, prose and poetry these women celebrate themselves, their mothers and the second half of their lives, casting aside years of racism and sexism and finding the blessing in achieving midlife. Brice has included the work of Maya Angelou, Pearl Cleage, Nikki Giovanni, Alice Walker, J. California Cooper, Rita Dove and Susan L. Taylor among others. Several tributes to mothers and their unflappable sense of style can be found in the books four sections, addressing personal growth and spirituality, the physical changes of midlife, the changes relationships undergo and the continued need for romance and sexuality. Brice writes, "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number was written by wise, honest, bold and vivacious women. It features a chorus of voices lifted up to sing the truth about midlife."

WHAT KEEPS ME STANDING: A BLACK GRANDMOTHER'S GUIDE TO PEACE, HOPE & INSPIRATION (Doubleday, $23.95) by Dennis Kimbro was inspired by his own teenage daughter's auspicious declaration that her two grandmothers would make the best presidential team. He asked 1,000 Black grandmothers to write a one-page letter to their grandchildren or to the next generation about life. This book is a result of their sage advice. "Some of the wisest words and most compelling lessons I read did not come from Ivy League or highly trained minds," Kimbro says. "On the contrary, my instructions came from poor, Black women sixty years and older, educated in the school of life. Their teacher was struggle, their books were hope, and their pencils were sharpened by prayer."

GETTING MOTHER'S BODY (Random House, $23.95) is the first novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks. It is the story of a down-on-their-luck Black family in 1960s Texas in search of the jewels supposedly buried with the family matriarch. Parks won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Topdog/Underdog and says she is trying to pursue unity in her writing.

ALSO NOTED

My Heart Will Cross This Ocean: My Story, My Son, Amadou. (One World/Ballantine Books Hardcover, $24.95) by Kadiatou Diallo and Craig Wolff is a powerful memoir of Amadou Diallo--the young African man who was killed on the doorstep of his apartment building in a hail of police bullets in February 1999. This book by his mother is also the story of her life, her loss and how she came from Africa to defend her slain firstborn.

IN PRAISE OF OUR TEACHERS: A MULTICULTURAL TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO INSPIRED US (Beacon Press, $19.95) edited by Gloria Wade Gayles is a celebration and tribute to teachers who have made an indelible impression on their students. Gayles brings together the remembrances of some topnotch former students--including Langston Hughes, Alice Walker, Nikki Giovanni, James Earl Jones and Shirley Chisholm, among others, who remind the reader of the immeasurable influence that good teachers will always have on their students.

HATS FOR EVERY HEAD: THE LANGUAGE OF HATS (Cypress House, $55.00) by San Francisco-based milliner to the stars Ruth Garland-Dewson speaks hat talk fluently. It is the story of an African-American girl who loved hats and grew up to make them. This unique coffee table book is the culmination of more than 22 years of loving, selling and working with hats. It includes photos of many VIPS from the world of entertainment, sports, media, business and politics with their hats and also includes a forward from San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr.

PATTI LABELLE'S LITE CUISINE: OVER 100 DISHES WITH TO-DIE-FOR TASTE MADE WITH TO-LIVE-FOR RECIPES (Penguin Group, $26.00) by Patti LaBelle and Laura Randolph Lancaster contains more than 100 original recipes for healthy meals that are not only good for you but taste great too. She also shares her personal story of a lifetime of struggling with body image and how she had to radically change her dietary habits and choices after she was diagnosed with diabetes. "Treat your body like a temple, not an amusement park," she says in recounting her new healthy and delicious recipes.