Synopses & Reviews
“asha bandele has a poignant story to share in Something Like Beautiful. It is the love that comes through that makes this such a compelling tale.”
—Nikki Giovanni
Award-winning journalist, and author of The Prisoners Wife and Daughter, and performance poet featured on HBOS Def Poetry Jam, asha bandele once again writes from the heart in her lyrical and intimate memoir Something Like Beautiful—a moving story of love, loss, motherhood, and survival. Sharing the story of her struggles as a single black mother in New York City and her tragically self-destructive near-breakdown, asha bears her soul in a book Rebecca Walker, author of Baby Love, calls “courageous, profound, and achingly beautiful.”
Review
Praise for THE PRISONERS WIFE: “Haunting, intense, emotional... mesmerizing and disconcerting, offering insights into why caged birds sing.” Kirkus Reviews
Review
Praise for THE PRISONERS WIFE: “[bandeles] writing soars with emotion. And the readers emotions soar as well, not because of shared experience but because her highly polished and skillful writing makes one feel her pain and joy.” Booklist (starred review)
Review
“We should all be blessed with the intellect and insight bandele brings to motherhoodthe struggles, the joys, the fears, and the hope. Indeed, this is a fine portrait of what it means to be a single moma mom, periodin America.” Denene Millner, Reality Check columnist, Parenting magazine
Review
“Once again asha bandele has a poignant story to share in Something Like Beautiful. It is the love that comes through that makes this such a compelling tale.” Nikki Giovanni, poet
Review
Praise for THE PRISONERS WIFE: “asha bandele tells the story of a love that flourishes in the constricted space between freedom and captivity. This is a powerul and provocative book-- everyone should read it.” Angela Y. Davis
Review
Praise for THE PRISONERS WIFE: “The Prisoners Wife echoes Edwidge Danticats Farming of the Bones in the urgency in which it reminds us of the possibility of love even amidst the ruins. This is a terrifying, heart-breaking and, ultimately, important book.” Junot Diaz
Synopsis
When asha bandele fell in love with a prisoner serving a twenty-to-life sentence and became pregnant with his daughter, she had reason to hope they would live together as a family. But soon after Nisa was born, ashas dreams were shattered. Her husband, Rashid, was denied parole and told hed be deported to his native Guyana once released. Suddenly a statistic—a black single mother in New York City—asha kept it together on the outside while falling apart on the inside. Despite having a great job at a high-profile magazine and a beautiful daughter whom she adored, asha began drinking and smoking and stumbled into a relationship that opened new wounds—descending into depression when her life should have been filled with love and joy.
A lyrical, astonishingly honest memoir, Something Like Beautiful is not only ashas story but also the story of thousands of women who struggle daily with little help and much against them.
Synopsis
asha bandele has a poignant story to share in Something Like Beautiful. It is the love that comes through that makes this such a compelling tale. Nikki GiovanniAward-winning journalist, and author of The Prisoner s Wife "and "Daughter, "and performance poet featured on HBO S Def Poetry Jam, asha bandele once again writes from the heart in her lyrical and intimate memoir Something Like Beautiful" a moving story of love, loss, motherhood, and survival. Sharing the story of her struggles as a single black mother in New York City and her tragically self-destructive near-breakdown, asha bears her soul in a book Rebecca Walker, author of Baby Love, " calls courageous, profound, and achingly beautiful. "
Synopsis
"asha bandele has a poignant story to share in Something Like Beautiful. It is the love that comes through that makes this such a compelling tale." --Nikki Giovanni
Award-winning journalist, and author of The Prisoner's Wife and Daughter, and performance poet featured on HBO'S Def Poetry Jam, asha bandele once again writes from the heart in her lyrical and intimate memoir Something Like Beautiful--a moving story of love, loss, motherhood, and survival. Sharing the story of her struggles as a single black mother in New York City and her tragically self-destructive near-breakdown, asha bears her soul in a book Rebecca Walker, author of Baby Love, calls "courageous, profound, and achingly beautiful."
Synopsis
"First Harper paperback published 2010"--T.p. verso.
About the Author
A former features editor for Essence magazine, asha bandele is the author of two collections of poems, the award-wining memoir The Prisoners Wife, and the novel Daughter. She lives in Brooklyn with her daughter.