Also noted - 12 books

BLESSED HEALTH: The African-American Woman's Guide to Physical and Spiritual Well-Being (Fireside Books, $14.00)by Melody T. McCloud and Angela Ebron helps African-American women empower their body, mind, soul and spirit by achieving a sound spiritual life and good health. "If you don't make time for yourself each day, to do inner work, to care for your soul, it can adversely affect your equilibrium and cause physical and biochemical changes in your body that may result in illness," the authors assert.

A PLENTIFUL HARVEST: CREATING BALANCE AND HARMONY THROUGH THE SEVEN LIVING VIRTUES (Warner Books, $22.95) by Terrie Williams invites readers to join her on the pathway for a richer, more meaningful life. Designed for women who are overwhelmed by a long list of "to do's" in their busy lives, she shares how the seven principles of Kwanzaa serve as inspiration for developing seven living virtues, which are foundations for bringing balance and wholeness to our lives.

THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN'S GUIDE TO GREAT SEX, HAPPINESS & MARITAL BLISS (Amber Books, $16.95) by Jel D. Lewis (Jones)is a top relationship book for women of color. With hot topics such as "make your marriage last a lifetime," "indulge his senses" and "love yourself first," this book offers many chapters of tips and advice to keep marital bliss from going bust.

A LOVE NO LESS: MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LOVE LETTERS (Doubleday Books, $19.95) by Pamela Newkirk, is a poignant and original testament to Black love and to the bonds that endure in the face of physical separations, harsh times and personal misfortunes. These are moving letters from ordinary folk and well-known figures.

IN LOVE AND WAR (Dutton, $23.95) by Denene Millner and Nick Chiles is a novel that shows the reader the alternating thoughts and feelings of its male and female main characters--the viewpoints of the suspicions of the single mom and the panic of the wary bachelor. This husband-and-wife writing team is also the author of What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know and Love Don't Live Here Anymore.

I WILL SURVIVE: THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN GUIDE TO HEALING FROM SEXUAL ASSAULT (Seal Press, $12.95)by Lori Robinson is a valuable resource for African-American survivors of sexual assault as well as their families, friends and communities. Incorporating personal stories, civil rights history and a call for community activism, Robinson, an award-winning journalist and rape survivor herself, walks readers through the ways survivors can experience emotional, physical, sexual, and spiritual healing and offers her insights of the peculiar difficulties Black women face on their recovery journey.

RISING (St. Martin's Griffin, $12.95) by Darnella Ford is a novel that will disturb and comfort at the same time. With its memorable characters and poignant writing, this novel is an anthem to survival.

FROM THE SOUL: STORIES OF GREAT BLACK PARENTS AND THE LIVES THEY GAVE US (Berkley, $13.95) by Phyllis Y. Harris is a book that cuts away the long-held stereotype of the "bad Black parent." Instead she demonstrates here what the Black community already knows--that the Black family has long been a source of enormous resilience, support, and understanding through the most difficult times. Insightful and inspiring, this book celebrates the power of love within the Black family.

In MENDING THE WORLD: STORIES OF FAMILY BY CONTEMPORARY BLACK WRITERS (Basic Civitas Books, $25.00)edited by Rosemarie Robotham, various writers celebrate the richness of Black family life, revealing how deep, complicated and joyous modern kinship can be. "Only by appreciating that there is no one truth about the Black family, but many individual and subjective truths, can we begin to understand how far we've come, where we are now and where we yet dream of arriving," says Robotham.

WITNESSING & TESTIFYING: BLACK WOMEN, RELIGION AND CIVIL RIGHTS (Fortress Press, $23.00) by Rosetta E. Ross explores the lives and faith of seven Black religious women who were also civil rights activists--Ella Baker, Septima Clark, Fannie Lou Hamer, Victoria DeLee, Clara Muhammad, Diane Nash and Roby Doris Smith Robinson. Ross is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.

CHOOSING TRUTH (Simon & Schuster, $22.00) by Harriette Cole is a prescription for living honestly and with integrity. Meant to counter the "anything goes" current societal lifestyle where the lie has become the truth and the truth the lie, Cole presents an uplifting message of personal empowerment and lays out a step-by-step path of inner exploration to help individuals start living an authentic life. Cole is the author of How to Be: A Guide to Contemporary Living, as well as the best-selling Jumping the Broom: The African-American Wedding Planner and its companion volume, Jumping the Broom Wedding Workbook.

WILLIAM COOPER NELL: SELECTED WRITINGS 1832-1874 (Black Classic Press, $45.00) edited by Dorothy Porter Wesley and Constance Porter Uzelac is an extensive, thorough and well-researched compilation of the correspondence of William Cooper Nell, a 19th century African-American abolitionist, historian and integrationist.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group