The word that came to me now was “defiant.” Because a person had to be defiant to be able to stand amid the wreckage of her life and instead of shaking a fist, pick up...

…hearing again the words from the Gullah woman, All shut-eye ain’t sleep; all good-bye ain’t gone.

…Being a mother is like being a gardener of souls. You tend your children, make sure the light always touches them

Miles and years become suddenly invisible when you find yourself back where you started from, as if you’ve learned nothing and you are once again the person you once were.

Mama?””Yes, Emmy.”She traced a rivulet of rain with her finger as it made its journey down the glass. “How do you know when it’s been long enough?”Emmy could sense her mother smiling into the phone....