Customer Reviews

My Soul To His Spirit: Soulful Expressions From Black Daughters To Their Fathers

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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In these pages, I found true stories of black daughters and fathers and the relationship between them. I read about faith, anger, support, heartache, despair, adoration, sadness, admiration, and most importantly, love. I read those pages and it made me think about the relationship I have with my own father. The strained silences, the moments of connection, the awkward years of teenagerhood and then the simmering fury of adulthood all mixed in with my love for him. I read this book and I knew that I wasn't alone. Melda Beaty elegantly captured the rich and complex relationship that Black daughters have with their fathers in her poignant choices of true stories from the many many entries that she doubtlessly received. Each one touched me in some way that I am still thinking about. Each story is distinct with each author's individuality and these entries range from poetry to lyrical to prose and somehow it fits. More than just a compilation of short stories, these different creative writing styles create a sense of oneness throughout the book. It's a slice of life that is hard to capture, especially with so difficult and complex a subject. I would highly recommend this book to anyone of any ethnicity. It made me think about my family and my life. It made me think about my father and me.

It is a warm, engaging and heartfelt book. It brought me to tears and inspired me to purchase it for several of my friends who are also Daddy's Girls.

Much has been written about the relationships of mothers and daughters, but never have the depths of feelings within Black daughters been probed so magnificently. These essays take the reader into the deepest and most personal thoughts that daughters experience as they get to know their fathers ... from admiration, to fear, to painful awakenings, to deep love.

Powerful and moving, this book is a wonderful read, and an excellent gift to fathers who never knew what their daughters were thinking. All Black fathers will find their daughters and understand this unique relationship in these pages somewhere.

Melda Beatty has scored a triumphant breakthrough with these revelations.

Stories from the Soul! Deep, moving, heartfelt. Parts are painful to read due to the brutal honesty but perhaps can be healing just to know others have felt the same way. Black, white or asian can relate to these stories.
Thank you for all those that shared their stories.

I have read the introduction and just three stories so far in this book [including the editor's]...and WOW, very moving, extremely deep, so well executed and what bravery. It's a remarkable thing to try and overcome a wrenching pain of neglect, seek and have successfully found solace in its troubling existence. I commend Melda Beaty on compiling such a powerful book! I am looking forward to reading all of the stories

Out of the despair of a young woman needing guidance and
affirmation for her existence, MY SOUL TO HIS SPIRIT is born.
Melda Beaty longed for the type of love that tells a young
girl she has worth, beauty and unlimited potential. For a
male love that is disconnected from possession, obsession or
penetration; love that only a father can give. Never knowing
that magnitude of love, she harbored ill feelings for her
father. Traumatized since she was a little girl, her
nightmares ended only after she became a woman with a
legitimate voice, and truly forgave her father.

Since her atonement, Ms. Beaty has been blessed to meet and
share stories with other Black women with similar histories
of overwhelming father-daughter relationships. Relationships
that more often than not, define how we relate to the men in
our lives. MY SOUL TO HIS SPIRT speaks of the totality of our
lives as black women and the full spectrum of kinship with
our fathers.

MY SOUL TO HIS SPIRIT does not bash fathers, however, it does
present a penetrating view from every possible angle. The six
powerful chapters, Loving: Daddy's Girl; Distant: Every Once
in Awhile; Abandon: One Day He Was Gone; Non-Existent: Could
Pass Me on the Street; Amended: Time and Forgiveness Heals
All Wounds; and Deceased: Gone Too Soon, cover the gamut of
emotions daughters have felt for fathers. I applaud Ms. Beaty
and all the daughters who contributed to this book of healing
and strengthening for the family unit. I venture to say each
reader will be familiar with at least one of the offerings.
This is a humbling read; an epiphany.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

As a future father, I was pleasantly surprised at the balance of this book. The collections of essays, poems, and random thoughts run the gamut of positive, negative, and indifferent relationships that African American women have with their fathers. It gives an accurate portrayal of the importance of fatherhood that will stir the heart of every man that has the pleasure of reading it.