Customer Reviews

Gumbo for the Soul: Here's Our Child-Where's the Village?

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This anthology addresses an important, integral aspect of our society - both yours and mine. The sad fact of the matter is that there are children out there who don't have a village to surround themselves with. This is both a shame and a challenge that we must overcome and embrace. To be the change we wish to see in our children, let us all charge forth and take action. The essays, short stories, and commentary found in this anthology will move you, make you think, and give you hope - all things that our children sorely need you to do. In my line of work, I take part in the village everyday and a literary work like this serves as a reminder of why and how. Read this work and ponder the ways you can take part, too. You can always count on the Gumbo for the Soul family to throw down the gauntlet with timely, informative, and entertaining literary works, and this one carries on the tradition. Needless to say I'm proud to be part of the village.

Terra Little
Author of "Running from Mercy" & "Where There's Smoke"
2009 Gumbo Contributor

GUMBO FOR THE SOUL: Here's Our Child, Where's the Village? compiled by Beverly Black Johnson, is a collection of essays and poems focusing on the foster child, the adoptive child and the families who care for them. Also, surprisingly highlighted are the different type of villages, one may not have considered. Each author of an essay or poem has knowledge of the subject matter and each eloquently expresses their views or experience.

It is very difficult to select a favorite essay, so I will list a few. Will by Anna K. Stone depicts a defiant child and the struggle of a teacher who literally provides shelter and guidance in a very unorthodox way. She was not "his" teacher, she was "a" teacher in the building who stumbled upon his mishaps. Call Me Ma'am by Terra B. Little highlights the respect she commands for herself and for her clients as a probation officer. Through the Eyes of A Child: Aunt Louise's Red Shoes by Sharon Gray is a love story about the unconditional love of a child toward her aunt. When the aunt's mask is revealed the continued love from the child shines through. In Our Ghetto by Michael Guinn, the author paints a picture of the ghetto through the use of analogies and metaphors utilizing a lyrical prose. The technique is effective in forcing you to visualize, acknowledge and empathize with what is written. Some of the poems I enjoyed were Love Stew-Cooked in a Slow Cooker by H Renay Anderson, Am I Tomorrow's Keeper by Lorraine Elzia and Mama Cries by Demetrius Phillips.

This GUMBO FOR THE SOUL collection is a testament to the many people throughout the world who create and maintain our villages for the sake of the children. Also included is a resource section which provides additional knowledge as it relates to foster care and adoption systems. This is a wonderful collection which provides some awareness to the mounting situation of our children's struggles.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers