Customer Reviews

My Blue Suede Shoes: Four Novellas

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Desiree Cooper's, "Breakin' It Down," talk show host sensation CC Smart is a powerhouse on the television screen and she rules with an iron fist on and off the stage. Never healing from her own issues of childhood abandonment and neglect, she forces the same cruel punishment on her seven-year-old daughter.

"Brotherly Love" by Tracy Price-Thompson introduces readers to a brilliant teenager, who lost her parents at an early age. After the death of their parents, her older brother raises her and their relationship is not of the norm.

Most times when we hear of spousal abuse, we automatically think of husbands beating their wives; however, in TaRessa Stovall's novella "Breakin' Dishes" Monique Worthington is fed up with her husband's cheating.

Lastly, "The Wrong Side of Mr. Right" by Elizabeth Atkins presents a bride-to-be who must determine whether social status and fortune is worth losing her self-respect at the hands of an abusive fiancé.

In each of the short stories a pair of blue suede shoes in various styles, grants each woman empowerment and encouragement to stop the vicious cycle of abuse. Love isn't supposed to cause deliberate emotional or physical pain and each of these women have to take back control of what they've lost. As I read each novella, I sunk deeper and deeper into each page, each verbal attack, each physical attack and my mind was literally drained. I can't begin to imagine what an abused person goes through on a daily basis. Hopefully, MY BLUE SUEDE SHOES: Four Novellas will touch an abused victim and inspire in them encouragement, hope and deliverance.

Reviewed by Sharon Lewis

of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

I really enjoyed this book and it stimulated great convo for my book club . There's definitely something to take away from each story. The authors bring to light several forms of abuse, including the taboo ones that we like to keep on a hush. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because the story "Breakin' Dishes" by TaRessa Stovall didn't capture the realness of women who abuse their men. This was an opportunity to present something that is really taboo across cultures and I don't feel like the author succeeded in this because you soon find out all of the husband's dirt (I don't want to give away the story) and it leaves the reader (or maybe just me LOL) feeling like he deserved to get his butt beat by his wife. Whenever there's a story about a man abusing a woman, the woman is always the victim and you feel sorry for her and happy when she makes it out the situation. Stovall wrote a story about a woman abusing a man but the woman still ends up being the victim. I really wanted to see the tables get turned but it just didn't happen.

Respect your self, respect & love, not abuse, the givers and nurturers of human life. That begins when sisters take their power back and stand down all forms of family abuse. My Blue Suede Shoes is one such road map, told from three diverse and accomplished women writers, in clear, concise anecdotes that inspire women to empower themselves and stand down domestic abuse.

I absolutely loved this book. The words "engrossing," and "inspiring" are so often used these days that one fears they'll lose all their meaning. Not in this case. The words fit. I turned the last page with a great deal of regret, as though I'd come to the end of a visit with dear, dear friends.

I absolutely loved the first book in the Sister4Sister Empower Ourselves series, "Other People's Skin." I've been searching for the right fedora ever since. Now I'll have to shop for a pair of righteous blue suede shoes!" I like how shoes weave into the plot of each story the same way hats did in the earlier book that explored relationships and choices. Desiree Cooper's story, Breakin' It Down, deals with an abusive mother daughter relationship, where the daughter doesn't have a choice. Growing up with a rageaholic mother I could relate. That's the gift of good fiction, you find another kernel that helps heal a dark spot in the soul. Both Desiree and Elizabeth Atkins have ranked a my favorite writers for years, Des's columns in the Detroit Free Press, and Elizabeth's marvelous mysteries, especially White Chocolate.

In My Blue Suede Shoes, the first story is Breakin' it Down, by Desiree Cooper. It explores the dark side of motherhood that's not explored enough. The relationship between a mother and daughter is always complicated, but it becomes dangerous in the novella when a famous TV personality who has never aged emotionally past eleven, and finds herself competing with her own daughter to satisfy her most basic needs. It really points out how destructive it is to bring children into the world (or adopt them) in order to "fix" something in your own childhood. I thought that the story was a perceptive look into dysfunctional mother-daughter dynamics.

If a reader is interested in her writing, then read Desiree Coooper's short story in Detroit Noir. A chilling look at broken promises.

There are so many news stories about inter-family violence, that, except for rap artists, people would think that wealthy people are above it all. This collection of novellas does not use the crutch of poverty to explain domestic violence. It's a problem that plagues all socio-economic classes, and it's about time we all started talking about it.

There are so many news stories about inter-family violence, that, except for rap artists, people would think that wealthy people are above it all. This collection of novellas does not use the crutch of poverty to explain domestic violence. It's a problem that plagues all socio-economic classes, and it's about time we all started talking about it.

Different types of domestic abuse are shown in this wondrous, brave collection. Desiree Cooper's " Breakin'it down," highlights the issue of child neglect and abuse. It dwelves with a masterful touch into its causes, and makes one shudder at the nebulous line that separates the wholesome from the bad.

A story that all mothers should read; ultimately a story of hope. A deeply moving, illuminating novella.