Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The 12 year-old daughter of a poor, rural, black southern preacher and his wife, pregnant by the son of the State's wealthiest white family, triumphs over years of abandonment and tragedy."Where Was God on May 15, 1974?" Pulitzer Nominated for Fiction 2007Ms. Cicely Tyson: "I have not been so moved by a novel since I first read Alex's book (Alex Haley, 's Roots).In 1974, the life of a pregnant 12 year-old daughter of a black, rural, southern minister is changed forever, when it is learned the unacknowledged father is the 16 year-old son of Arkansas's wealthiest and most powerful white family. Retribution, attempted suicide, and triumph mark 15 years of her forced exile in Chicago. A blind eye is turned upon a vicious murder; a callous display of arrogance and power, until a day of reckoning spawned by 'A Family Gathering.'After reading the hardcover edition, Emmy-Award-Winning actress, Cicely Tyson personally called the author and said: "I have not been so moved by a novel since Alex's book Roots]".Ms. Tyson went on to-in her words-"lay claim" to the role of Aunt Rose, in what will certainly be a film adaptation of this epic novel that reads like real life.-May 15, 1974 was the last day of her first life. - In 'The Sticks'-a poor area languishing in the backwater of rural Reedville, Arkansas-Deborah Yvonne Davis was a precocious, 12 year old, black schoolgirl...in love with life. Her laughter was infectious; her dreams were boundless. Second daughter of Reverend Henry Bertram Davis, and Mabel Davis, she lived with her siblings: three sisters and a brother, Matthew-her kindred spirit.By all measure, Deborah was a child in a woman's body. It was her blessing, and her curse. Her looks earned the catty glares and snide remarks of girls and women alike. Her flawless, creamy-brown skin, well-defined curves and swaying walk, made her the envy of women far past their primes. What was worse, she was the object of lust for men decades beyond her twelve years.By contrast, Deborah was the lighter-skinned of her sisters, especially Rachel, whose deep mocha-brown skin most resembled her mother's and brother's. While her skin color seemed of such focus for others, Deborah often found herself wishing she were several shades darker. For some unknown reason, she found herself reviled-even hated, by her younger sister. Practically from the cradle, Rachel harbored nothing but animus and venom for Deborah.Still, loving memories of Gram d'lena, her paternal grandmother, guided Deborah. Her humble house, straddling Arkansas's Ouachita and Delta regions, was a hallowed place where loved ruled, and memories were born. It was Gram who, when Deborah was only days old, confronted longtime Sticks resident, and alleged voodoo practitioner, Florinda Batiste. The ninety year-old spinster moved to touch Deborah as she lay in her bassinet...And this is is not even the beginning of this tightly-woven story many find it hard to see as fiction.
Synopsis
Girl meets world. The 12 year-old daughter of a poor, rural, black southern preacher and his wife, pregnant by the son of the State's wealthiest white family, triumphs over years of abandonment and tragedy.
Past Pulitzer-Nominee. Where Was God on May 15, 1974?
Girl Meets World, and Lives To Tell Her Story.
It was 1974 - the South. She was 12; he was 16. She was the daughter of a poor Baptist minister. He was a son of privilege. What happened on a hot day in May ended the life she knew. His was unaffected, until the passing of 14 years; a vicious murder; a display of arrogance and power; an unexpected visitor, and 'A Family Gathering'.
Ms. Cicely Tyson: "I have not been so moved by a novel since I first read Alex's book (Alex Haley, 's Roots). When the film is made, I'm laying claim to the role of Aunt Rose."
In 1974, the life of a pregnant 12 year-old daughter of a black, rural, southern minister is changed forever, when it is learned the unacknowledged father is the 16 year-old son of Arkansas's wealthiest and most powerful white family. Retribution, attempted suicide, and triumph mark 15 years of her forced exile in Chicago. A blind eye is turned upon a vicious murder; a callous display of arrogance and power, until a day of reckoning spawned by 'A Family Gathering.'
After reading the hardcover edition, Emmy-Award-Winning actress, Cicely Tyson personally called the author and said: "I have not been so moved by a novel since Alex's book Roots]".
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May 15, 1974 was the last day of her first life. -
In 'The Sticks'-a poor area languishing in the backwater of rural Reedville, Arkansas-Deborah Yvonne Davis was a precocious, 12 year old, black schoolgirl...in love with life. Her laughter was infectious; her dreams were boundless. Second daughter of Reverend Henry Bertram Davis, and Mabel Davis, she lived with her siblings: three sisters and a brother, Matthew-her kindred spirit.
By all measure, Deborah was a child in a woman's body. It was her blessing, and her curse. Her looks earned the catty glares and snide remarks of girls and women alike. Her flawless, creamy-brown skin, well-defined curves and swaying walk, made her the envy of women far past their primes. What was worse, she was the object of lust for men decades beyond her twelve years.
By contrast, Deborah was the lighter-skinned of her sisters, especially Rachel, whose deep mocha-brown skin most resembled her mother's and brother's. While her skin color seemed of such focus for others, Deborah often found herself wishing she were several shades darker. For some unknown reason, she found herself reviled-even hated, by her younger sister. Practically from the cradle, Rachel harbored nothing but animus and venom for Deborah.
Still, loving memories of Gram d'lena, her paternal grandmother, guided Deborah. Her humble house, straddling Arkansas's Ouachita and Delta regions, was a hallowed place where loved ruled, and memories were born. It was Gram who, when Deborah was only days old, confronted longtime Sticks resident, and alleged voodoo practitioner, Florinda Batiste. The ninety year-old spinster moved to touch Deborah as she lay in her bassinet...
And this is is not even the beginning of this tightly-woven story many find it hard to see as fiction. LISTEN TO EXCERPT HERE: https: //AFamilyGathering.com
Synopsis
A FAMILY GATHERING - an Epic family novel
"I have not been so moved by a book, since reading Alex's Haley]. When the film is magde, I'm laying claim to the role of Aunt Rose."
- Ms. Cicely Tyson, Award-winning film icon
After reading Caroline Randall Williams' powerful and poignant New York Times' essay: "You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument," I realized my novel, A Family Gathering, is a fictionalized portrayal of its essence. The "rape skinned" child, born to the protagonist Deborah, is herself a modern-day "confederate monument."
The novel opens in 1974, the South. She (Deborah) was 12, the daughter of a rural, black Baptist minister. He (Jonathan Jefferson Reed) was 16, the only son of Arkansas' wealthiest family-descendants of the Confederacy-and future U.S. Senate candidate, later backed by William Jefferson Clinton, then governor of Arkansas.
What happened in a wooded area off Crispus-Attucks Road, on a hot day in May, transformed Deborah Yvonne Davis's life. Jonathan Jefferson Reed's was unaffected until the passing of 14 years of Deborah's exile in Chicago, a vicious murder, a callous display of arrogance and power, an unexpected visitor, and "a family gathering."
Synopsis
A FAMILY GATHERING
- an epic family novel by Gene Cartwright, former Oprah guest author and past Pulitzer-nominee.
"I have not been so moved by a book, since reading Alex's Haley]. When the film is made, I am laying claim to the role of Aunt Rose."
- Ms. Cicely Tyson, Award-winning film icon
When the pregnant 12-year-old daughter of a black southern preacher fingers the son of the state's wealthiest white family, she is exiled to Chicago relatives, but defiantly returns 14-years later and is targeted for murder by that family-clinging to their Confederate heritage.