Bernice L McFadden

"Childhood can be rough. But for Kenzie growing up in the Lowe home means opening the bottom drawer of her father's dresser to choose which of the three belts coiled, waiting like snakes, she wants to get whipped with; trips to Beehive Liquors for her father's vodka; and dreaming of the day she can escape apartment A5. She goes to school, she holds odd jobs, and develops her own craving for the bottle. Twenty years have passed and it's now the nineties...

Winner of two Black Writers Alliance Gold Pen Awards and an Honor Award from the American Library Association, Bernice L. McFadden has authored several national best-sellers, including Suger (F0006) and This Bitter Earth (F0043). Camilla spent years disassociating herself from her dysfunctional family, creating a new life and new self-image. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, however, she must reconnect with her painful past.

Sherry has struggled all her life to understand who she is, where she comes from, and, most importantly, why her mother slapped her cheek one summer afternoon. The incident has haunted Sherry, and it causes her to dig into her family's past. Like many family histories, it is fractured and reluctant to reveal its secrets; but Sherry remains determined. In just a few days' time, her extended family will gather for a reunion, and Sherry sets off across...

During World War II, two African American musicians, Harlan and Lizard, are captured by the Nazis in Paris and imprisoned at Buchenwald concentration camp which changes the course of Harlan's life.-- When Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Robbins, are invited to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre, Harlan jumps at the opportunity. But after the City of Light falls under Nazi occupation, Harlan and Lizard...

This heartbreaking tale follows two damaged but hopeful souls as they struggle to find love despite the ravages of their pasts