4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Never underestimate the power of a father's influence on his daughter . . ., November 18, 2008
This review is from: Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?: From the Projects to Prep School (Paperback)
A little girl whose father casually names all the stars in the various constellations can hardly help but reach for those stars, even if he's no longer a presence in her life. It's those early years that truly matter in the very special relationship of a father and his daughter. I know this for a fact, as my father and I shared a similar background.
Ms. Lyles was named for her elusive father, and used his teachings as a springboard to a more challenging educational experience. Even though his presence wasn't a constant in her life, his love for words and books opened her young eyes to the world, and she never looked back.
Her story proves that intelligence and education go hand-in-hand in creating an anachronism, such as she was while a teen-ager. Her early promise, however, was fulfilled many times over as she continued to achieve beyond what the rest of the world might have thought possible for this sassy, skinny Black kid from the projects of inner-city Cleveland.
Her love for books and words prompted her teachers to goad her into continually improving herself, until at age 14, she found herself in totally new territory. A three-year scholarship to a private school (where all the rich, white kids went) meant she left her own home to live with a teacher, but still meant a bus-ride to the rural campus.
Having learned at an early age that race was *Important*, she also learned that some things are only important if you let them be. Conspiracies could be found anywhere, if you looked hard enough to find them. Fortunately for the rest of us, Ms. Lyles decided to look beyond them and find the truth of a larger world. Granted, she had a lot of encouragement and support from folks she didn't know and had never met, but she also used her own store of gumption to push or pull herself to a higher plane.
This wonderfully readable book is not only a non-pretentious biography of a graceful writer/poet but also a demonstration that gems are to be found in the most unlikely of places. It's also a great slice-of-life look at a world not very familiar to those of us who happen to be white, and from a different economic structure. If you remember--or even if you don't--the river that burnt or the Hough riots, your memory will be challenged by her view of these events.
Follow along as she experiences the beginnings of the Black Power movement while still a pre-teen, graduates from Hawken and Smith College and takes her place in a world of letters, as poet, writer and editor.
Do I Dare Disturb the Universe? is an inspirational story that should be read by anyone who can read, regardless of age or color or social position. For those who cannot themselves read it, a spoken version should be created so that no one is left out.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read,,,, March 15, 2010
This review is from: Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?: From the Projects to Prep School (Paperback)
Bring a black Cinderella has its stumbling blocks. Charlisle Llysle tell the story of being plucked from a midwestern housing project and given a place in a prep school. It is a tale of adjustments, frustraton, insight and growth. Anyone of any color who's been in a minority position would gain from reading this book. The style is smooth and her story carries you along. You won't put it down! Fortunately, it's a managable length, although I'd have read a longer book if she's chosen to write it.
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