It’s been a while since I’ve logged on and written a post. While I haven’t been writing much recently, fear not, I have been reading a ton.
I’m actually in the process of a long and technical training session for a new position that I’ve recently taken. So over the next few weeks my postings may be scattered as I study and prepare for my certification exams. Soon enough I’ll be back on schedule.
The cool thing is that now I have an opportunity for a new beginning. New company, new position, new co-workers. And that’s what I want to focus on in this article.
I read a lot of coming-of-age novels, so the concept of new beginnings are not foreign to me when it comes to literature. But recently I’ve finished two books that have inspired me beyond the typical read and so I’d like to share them with you.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
We first encounter the children in Stamps, Arkansas living with their grandmother. The area in which they living is divided by race and growing up Marguerite (or My as her brother calls her) is faced with the uncompromising and unapologetic hate/ignorance that festers there. In a way, everyone in that town is infected with the sentiment one way or another.
Maya’s father returns and brings the children back to St Louis, MO where they live with their mother for a short time until which her boyfriend molests her. After being convicted, he escapes jail time and is killed which triggers their mother to send them back to Stamps. There Maya is a mute, enclosed little girl. With the help of a neighbor, she is once again brought out of her shell.
As teenagers, the children are sent to California to live with their mother and attend High School. There Maya experience driving for the first time, Mexico, having a job, being homeless and pregnancy.
The story of this little girl’s journey is amazing. She overcomes so much and continually is beat down by circumstances, society and politics. Nonetheless, she is able to prevail and looks forward to her future, whatever it may hold for her.
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
In the book, Sarah Grimke’s change of heart towards slavery is created when, for her eleventh birthday, she is given a 10-year old Hetty “Handful” as a waiting maid. The friendship and bond that the two experience is unprecedented as Sarah teaches Handful to read and write and Handful provides Sarah with companionship.
Thirty five years later, Sarah is living as a Quaker in Philadelphia trying to become a minister. Her sister, Angelina, is not far away trying to incorporate herself into the abolition movement. Upon her failure to assimilate amongst the Quakers because of her strong belief around racial equality, Sarah gives up her studies and works with Angeline to make more of an impact.
Together the women make waves for the movement as they speak all of the Northeast about racial equality and the need to end slavery.
In the meantime, Handful is back on the plantation as a seamstress and waiting maid for Sarah’s younger sister, Mary. The cruelty that she and her mother and sister have experienced throughout their life is now coming to head.
As her last dying desire, Handful’s mother gives her daughters the money she has saved over the years so they can one day buy their freedom. Handful knows that her skill set makes her too valuable for the family to depart with, so she knows she must try to run away once more, sister is tow.
Sarah and Handful are reunited once more before Handful’s attempt to run. Their years of friendship and letter writing have left them with a sisterly love and they both try to sort out their feelings for one another in the broken system they live within.
The Reviews
Both of these stories speak of new beginnings.
Marguerite’s constant need to reinvent herself as she grows up, moves around and experiences the cruelty that can sometimes accompany life takes my breath away. Especially because it’s almost wholly an autobiographical telling of Maya’s life. To know that one person could experience so much and still turn out to be the beautiful and gracious women that she was is amazing.
Sarah and Handful’s friendship and ideas are before their time. While Handful is actually a fictional person, Sarah Grimke really did lead the abolition movement among women in the 1800’s. The personal risk and sacrifice that these two characters put themselves through in order to see their own ideas realized is inspiring.
If you’re in the mood for an inspiring read, I would recommend one of these two books to get you started. Happy reading fellow bookworms!
What books have inspired you throughout your life? Did they speak to a specific chapter you were facing in your life at that time?
