Title: Afro-Bougie Blues
Author: Lauren Wilson
Genre: Short Stories
Rating: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Synopsis:
Twelve stories - original, engaging, occasionally edgy.
Step into the world of Afro-Bougie Blues and walk in the shoes of different protagonists as they struggle to move through the world. Read how ordinary black women and men develop tenacity when they have to deal with the reality of their choices. Alexis finally finds love after seventeen years of a lonely existence, but life throws a curveball into her life. Watch as she overcomes the challenge despite her past still looming over her head. Walk with Rodney, a gulf war veteran who tries to drown the war memories with alcohol. See Bessie, overweight and stuck in life, make a decision that sets her on a journey that transforms her life in ways she never imagined. Thirteen-year -old Aisha wants answers to her complicated question about love. And this sets her father on the task of reflecting on what the word "love" really means. Listen to Lenore and her sisters recount stories from their father’s life after he succumbs to cancer.
From depression, abortion, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), spousal abuse, addiction, and extramarital affairs to colorism. Each short story takes you on a rollercoaster of emotion as you experience different areas of life narrated from a first-person perspective.
Afro-Bougie Blues is about characters with stories that are relatable because it captures struggles people deal with in everyday life. The author’s captivating prose and incredible storytelling will plunge the reader into fascinating worlds and challenge them to take on new perspectives that in turn inspire, move and entertain.
A great read for anyone who wants to know how people with diverse problems face the toughness of the world they inhabit. How they move forward when the future is uncertain and fortunes change in the blink of an eye, challenging their reality and overcoming it.
“You will find yourself not wanting this book to end.”
My Review:
Wow, I'm not normally a fan of short stories, because I'm usually left with wanting more, but I have to say I really enjoyed all of these stories. Of course for several of them, including Her Questions and Transformation, I especially would like to read more about both of their lives. All of the stories are about Black Women and Men, and some of the experiences we go through. Each story will have you pondering and thinking. They are deep and will take you on such an emotional rollercoaster ride.
About the Author
Lauren Wilson has been writing poetry and prose off and on for over 40 years, beginning with a series of poems to commemorate a cousin who passed away at age 19. She finds inspiration for her stories from a muse, an inner voice that propels her to put thoughts and emotions into words. When she isn’t writing, she uses her engineering background to work as a safety consultant, assessing machines and robotics in preparation for sale to European companies. Lauren is married to Howard Wilson; they have one dog, Petey. Lauren and Howard also have five precious nieces who provide much fulfillment and joy. In her spare time, Lauren is working on a labor of love – a 5 story miniature apartment building, filled with African-American art. She has been a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. since 2004.
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