Customer Reviews

Sacred Bond: Black Men and Their Mothers

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From the beginning to the ending of this book, I cried and laughed. It is the most uplifting book I have ever read in my life. It helped me to reminisce on my upbringing and how I am blessed to have had my mother and both grandmothers set examples for me as strong matriarchs. Sacred bond is very precious to me, especially now that I have my own son. I haved learned some of the things I should focus on and encourage him with from this book. It has helped me to see that I too need to be involved with my son not just while he is a baby but always. It helped me to see that I should make sure he is educated and stand up for what he believes. This was a resounding theme I got from all the mothers in Sacred Bond. I also learned from Sacred Bond that once my son achieves adulthood I should be active in his life, but learn to let him live his own life. James Love's story about his mother Henrietta Love was my favorite. Through his tragedy of being shot while under cover as a narcartics agent, he was helped to see his mother's strength and learned how it affected his life as a narcartics agent and in general. He thought his mother would go off her rocker when she found out he had been shot. Instead, she was cool and kept her head. She was strong through it all and helped her baby heal and get back on his feet. My favorite picture in the book is the one with Eric H. Holder, Jr., United States Deputy Attorney General and his mother Miriam Holder. This photo captures the love and pride a mother has when she sees all the work and devotion she has given to her child or children come to fruition. I could tell from the photo that both were proud to be apart of the other.

I loved this book and throughout the rest of my life will always refer back to it from time to time as I grow with my own son. I hope that one day my son will be able to look back and say that I too was a strong, devoted and determined mother. Most of all I hope he can say he is proud to be my son. I don't think any of the sons in sacred bond would trade their mother in, regardless of the situations they grew up in. I hope my son will fill the same about me.

Shows the sacrifices and determination of Mothers who are working against the odds to raise a successful boy into a successful Black Man. The home is the first school of education for children and Mother, indeed, is the first teacher which goes with a person until the end of life.

As I read this book, I could see myself in every one of the mothers. I laughed, I cried, and I was blessed to be touched by their experiences. As a mother, it was reassuring to read that I am on the right track. Through their trials and tribulations, the bond strengthened. To the authoris: Thank you for capturing these magnificent stories. To the mothers/sons: Thank you for letting us into your life.

I thought that this was a great book. It was enlightening and comforting to see black men and the positive relationships that they have with their mothers. One thing that puzzled me was that you had bi-racial men who did not want to say that they were black nor their other race. I thought that this book was about black men and their relationships with their mothers. I think by appearing in this book, they did choose.

I love the way Keith Brown captures the essence of mother-son relationships in the African American family. It portrays the values that are developed between mothers and sons to produce strong black males. Each story is an example of encouraging motivation and hope for future generations of mother-son relationships.

This wonderful collection of stories to read about the bond between mother's and son's.

This book is so moving. Within the first few pages, I was so captivated by the warm feelings that are shared. This mother to son bond is unexplainable. I immediately told my family and friends that they have to read this book if no other.

This is to the response from Gloria Alibaruho dated 25 December 1999.

I just read your review of the book, Sacred Bond: Black Men and Their Mothers. You said in your review. "All of the mothers are acquainted with life as a journey rather than a destination." I think that is a very profound statement - your focus on "journey" implies a continuous activity as opposed to "destination" which is a fixed point in time. Too often, whether we set the stage or someone else does, we focus on a fixed point in our lives, the time when the journey is completed. We forget to celebrate the activities that brought us to our goal. This celebration serves to strengthen us and provides inspiration for the next day. That is why some goals are never reached - the preparations for the journey are not made and then we loose sight of our destination. Metaphorically, it is like taking a hike in a dense forest and forgetting to bring a map or compass.

I have a notebook of quotations that give me inspiration and I have just included your quotation in the book. Thanks for your words of wisdom.

Sincerely,

Susan Lightfeather lightfeather@exotrope.net

AOL CUT ME OFF JUST AS I WAS FINISHING MY REVIEW OF THIS BOOK. PLEASE ADD THE FOLLOWING TO MY LAST SENTENCE:

'insider understanding of the diversity of black mothers in the diaspora. All of the mothers are acquainted with life as a journey rather than a destination. All of the sons are deeply involved with their mothers. Gloria Lindsey Alibaruho, PH.D Sociologist

What an insightful and important work! In this book, Mr. Brown has articulated what most of us have always wanted to say to all the women who raised us. Each story is unique and captures the complexity of that bond. I recommend this inspirational book to anyone who has been loved and nurtured by an incredible women.