Customer Reviews

Life's Spices from Seasoned Sistahs: A Collection of Life Stories from Mature Women of Color

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Life's Spices is simply a wonderful book. I heartily recommend it to all readers who enjoy personal essays and who like to get insight into people. (I know some of the authors represented in the book. One could not ask to meet nicer folks.)

The book was the brainchild of editor Vicki Ward, who drew upon contributions by 60 mature women of color (mostly age 60 and up, I believe) for this anthology. Her idea was to bring forth reminiscenses of family and heritage and experience from a wide range of women of color. The result is a fine volume of personal essays and some poetry--honest, unpretentious, and readable. Highly recommended. The focus of the book is mature women of color, but I think it will find a receptive audience among men and women of all backgrounds and ages, as reading it is like having conversations with friends whose experiences are worth telling.

Life's Spices From Seasoned Sistahs, is a collection of stories by different women from all walks of life. From African American, to Asian, to Mexican women, all of the sistahs have a story to tell. Each piece is uplifting, wisdom-filled, and presented with just enough seasoning to add to life's gumbo of joys, sorrows, and heartbreaks.

I found this book to be an excellent read. Each woman shared experiences that helped to mold them into strong, proud and wise women. In most cases, the stories were no longer than two are three pages, but each was packed with lessons to aid the reader in this journey we call life.

If you are into nonfiction and enjoy reading how people triumph over life's snares, you'll love Life's Spices From Seasoned Sistahs.

T. RHYTHM KNIGHT
APOOO BookClub

I am one of the authors featured in this book and it was truly a labor of love. The stories told here are awesome and inspiring and women of all colors can relate to them.
(not all of the authors are 60 and older! I'm not!)

LIFE'S SPICES FROM SEASONED SISTAHS, edited by Vicki Ward, is a wonderful collection of short stories, essays, and poems by mature women of all races. The collection is divided into the following themes: Sistahs' Joys and Struggle with Family, Sistahs' Joys...Life's Pain, Love, Humility, and Other Spices that Flavor Relationships, Mothers Use Love, Forgiveness, Compassion, Wisdom..., Seasonings for Self-Esteem, Sistahs' Survivin' and Working It Out, Death Can Be an Awakening, and The Spirit...Always Present.

Within each theme are related stories of joy, pain, happiness, and sorrow. As each woman puts pen to paper to tell their account, as no one else can, you will find them captivating and filled with wisdom. Each poem is also overflowing with strength and weakness and finally some with acceptance of the hand the authors' have been dealt and the power to forge ahead.

The editor has done an outstanding job selecting the contributors to tell their stories along with providing interesting author biographies and resources for women in all States and some provinces. The writing is exemplary and each narrative is distinct. The tantalizing epigraph and forward provide the how and the why. This collection can serve as an excellent gift for a special woman in your life and once read, can serve as a great conversation piece. We are more alike than we believe but at the same time different in our experiences and responses. Nonetheless, women are the corner stone of the world, as these stories will demonstrate.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

As a contributor to this powerfully written anthology about the lessons learned from living by women of color, I was not only honored to be a part of this work, but humbled by the raw honesty of each story. The healing nature of each story, brings with it a balm for the broken-hearted and wounded spirit, while allowing those of us who have triumphed "through it all" to celebrate together! "Life's Spices" gives women the permission to speak, to no longer live in silence and to embrace a circle of women that allows us to stand strong.

This is a really good book. The women's honest, often heart-wrenching stories touch on mothers, children, fathers, absent parents, husbands. The stories are rites of passages that most women go through at one time or another: the death of a beloved parent, the realization of race or class, intense joy, deep grief. I recommend this book for every woman out there. Because the writers are white, black, hispanic, native american, Asian, one really feels one is reading about the universal experiences of women...not just women of a certain class or a certain race or geographic area. A truly multicultural book of female wisdom.

I read this book for my female psychology class. The class and the book made me realize how societies, cultures, and men constantly discriminate against women. I learned about the different stereotypes that women face in this book, and I learned about what true, strong people and heroes are. I learned more about what women have to go through biologically, mentally, and emotionally.

What many of these women had to go through made my problems pale in comparison. What my mother, my grandmother, and what many other women in my life have had to go through could easily be part of this book. I wish many of my friends and family members that are sexist took a women of psychology course, and I wish all people are demanded to read books like these and to take female psychology classes in order to combat and lesson discrimination toward women.

I met three of the women that wrote in the book, and they were all funny, nice women. I wish people were more optimistic, caring, and strong like them. I recommend this book for people of all ages.

Life Spices From Seasoned Sistahs is a book of life stories from women of color all around the world. In this book these women share stories about their own personal live, as well as their trials and tribulations that they have overcome. The purpose of this book was to be able to reach out to women all around the world and let them know that they do not stand alone in what they experience and go through in life. I loved this book because I never read a book that was for women of color. This book was a great book and i recommend it to everyone who loves to read about other women experience.

If you're looking to read inspirational short stories, this book is for you, definitely. Vicky Ward gathers in this book stories about several women of color: Black women, Latino Women, Asian Women, etc. The stories are divided by themes which covers Puberty, Childhood, Motherhood, Relationship among others.

The stories here are all real, from non-famous female writers (all over 40) who are the protagonist of the stories. Here the reader will be easily immerse in the narration due to the clear and dynamic redaction and the varied themes it covers.

Highly recommended for every women that seeks for answers or, simply, inspiration. And, if you're a man looking forward to read about real-life heroines, this book will entertain you for a long time.

Great reread value.

Life's Spices from Seasoned Sistahs is an inspirational book for both females and males. Its uplifting stories from the the 60 plus women who contributed to the novel bring the reader happiness, sadness, and even laughter throughout the journey of reading. Every story included in this book has its unique way of telling their journey. Myself being a male, I would highly recommend this book to anyone willing to read it. I had a blast the entire time I was reading it and would not hesitate to read it again. Great Book!!!