Back to Life [Paperback]

Wendy Coakley-Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002

1989. Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. An Italian mob murders a black teenager named Yusuf Hawkins. That same night, across the Hudson River in New Jersey, Lisa and Marc meet at a party. Lisa's black. Marc's Italian. They eventually hook up. But interpersonal conflict, racist family and friends, and previous relationships loom. Their lives also play out in the charged political context of New York City's mayoral race, which pits David Dinkins, African-American Democrat, against Rudolph Giuliani, law-and-order Republican. Back to Life is a heady mix of taboo relationships, racial politics, and social commentary that begs the question: Can love really conquer all?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the late 1980s, a group of Italian American youths killed a young black man in Bensonhurst. Hostilities reached a breaking point between blacks and whites, and this is the background for Coakley-Thompson's story. Lisa Martin is in the process of getting a divorce from an abusive husband. Her friends try to be matchmakers, but she finds Marc Guerrieri on her own as both find a room to hide in during a party. They find each other interesting and verbally spar for awhile, but when the TV reports the murder of Yusuf Hawkins, they retreat to their separate corners because Lisa is black and Marc is white. They can't forget each other, yet when they meet again their attraction is challenged by their differences. Each has doubts, but it doesn't make it any easier when family, friends, and events seem to prove that they shouldn't be together. With careful attention to detail, down to the music in the background, Coakley-Thompson combines reality and fiction in an intriguing and powerful story. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Author

Lisa's black. Marc's Italian. They meet on the night that a gang of Italian males murders a black teenager in Brooklyn. Back to Life follows this interracial couple in a volatile cauldron where, when New York sneezes, Jersey catches the cold...

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Infinity Publishing (PA) (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0741409364
• ISBN-13: 978-0741409362
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,827,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of the novels Back to Life (2004 Romantic Times Nominee) and What You Won't Do For Love. I've also written articles and fiction for music and fashion/lifestyle magazines in New Jersey, the state here I'd lived for what seemed like forever, and in Nassau, Bahamas, where I spent my childhood. I graduated from Syracuse University with a Ph.D. in Education. My work as a commentator for Metro Connection on WAMU, our National Public Radio affiliate here in Washington D.C., earned a 2003 Associated Press/Chesapeake Award in the Editorial category.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful real-world romance, May 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Back to Life (Paperback)

I am an avid reader of interracial romances and I happened upon this book almost by accident. I was a little concerned because there were not many customer reviews of the book. This book has definitely shot to the very top of my all-time favorites list. I prefer romances involving real characters and not caricatures and this book delivered. While this book dealt with hot button issues, the author was still able to draw multi-dimensional characters and put their sometimes aberrant behavior in a societal context. This is also a book with real grown-ups as Lisa and Marc are both divorced thirty-somethings. It was much more powerful than your typical fantasy-romance. Both characters had former spouses that they both cared very deeply for at one time and they both were conflicted about letting go. The characters were mature professionals, both had baggage, but the story didn't become mired in histrionics. It was about the characters slowly letting go of an old life and having the courage to move on. That Lisa was black and Marc was white was integral to the story and added to the conflict, but it was handled superbly, because they were written as fully-realized people and not stereotypes. Too often in interracial romances, the cultural differences dominate and/or neither character has had ANY experience dealing with people from the other culture. This book is realistic in portraying the multi-cultural nature of their lives in NY. I also loved how the book put the state of race relations in context by using the notorius Bensonhurst incident. Wonderful story, grown-up prose. I hated for the book to end.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Standing the test of time, September 7, 2004

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back To Life (Paperback)

Reeling from a bad marriage and a vicious divorce, twenty-nine year old Lisa Martin just wants to be left alone. That sentiment falls on deaf ears because her friends are constantly introducing her to men. Attending a party hosted by one of her friends, Lisa ducks into a room trying to escape yet another male disaster and discovers that she is not alone. After a conversation with the stunningly handsome Marc Guerrieri, she realizes that he exudes all the qualities that she is looking for in a man. Fed up with the same ole, same ole Lisa wonders what it would be like to indulge in a relationship with Marc; the only problem is that he is white.

Forty years old and still tasting the bitter after-effects of his divorce, Marc was content with his life as a bestselling author and fiction writing
professor. When he meets Lisa, she stirs up feelings in him that have lain dormant since he and his wife split. On the first day of class, a student walks in while he is in the middle of a lecture, when Marc looks up he sees Lisa, the object of his desires. Marc is unsuccessful in hiding his attraction and trying to maintain a professional relationship with Lisa. They both decide to take matters into their own hands and embark on a journey to find love and happiness. When the former spouses of Marc and Lisa decide to make an appearance, their newfound relationship is turned upside down. Will Marc and Lisa be able to overcome the racial and social issues they face?

I found Wendy Coakley-Thompson's debut novel to be very intriguing. It held my attention and I fell in love with the characters. BACK TO LIFE is a wonderful romance novel about breaking down the barriers we face and following our hearts.

Reviewed by Pamela Bolden
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars real tale of the interacial romance, February 1, 2003

By 

"msradiodiva" (Nassau, the Bahamas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Life (Paperback)

wendy coakley thompson's "back to life" is a real piece of literature that details the interracial romance experience in real terms. the attention to themes of the day and music of the moment adds a special spice to the book and helps to set the mood. i just love hearing "what's playing in the background". lisa and marc show us the conflict one feels in a situation like theirs. and it's also a treat to see how their exes factor into the relationship as well. a good read!