Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother's Story - Softcover

Bandele, Asha

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061710393 ISBN 13: 9780061710391

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2010

Synopsis

When asha bandele fell in love with a prisoner serving a twenty-to-life sentence and became pregnant with his daughter, she had reason to hope they would live together as a family. But soon after Nisa was born, asha’s dreams were shattered. Her husband, Rashid, was denied parole and told he’d be deported to his native Guyana once released. Suddenly a statistic—a black single mother in New York City—asha kept it together on the outside while falling apart on the inside. Despite having a great job at a high-profile magazine and a beautiful daughter whom she adored, asha began drinking and smoking and stumbled into a relationship that opened new wounds—descending into depression when her life should have been filled with love and joy.

A lyrical, astonishingly honest memoir, Something Like Beautiful is not only asha’s story but also the story of thousands of women who struggle daily with little help and much against them.

About this title

About the Author

A former features editor for Essence magazine, asha bandele is the author of two collections of poems, the award-wining memoir The Prisoner’s Wife, and the novel Daughter. She lives in Brooklyn with her daughter.

Review

“Once again asha bandele has a poignant story to share in Something Like Beautiful. It is the love that comes through that makes this such a compelling tale.” (Nikki Giovanni, poet)

“We should all be blessed with the intellect and insight bandele brings to motherhood―the struggles, the joys, the fears, and the hope. Indeed, this is a fine portrait of what it means to be a single mom―a mom, period―in America.” (Denene Millner, Reality Check columnist, Parenting magazine)

Praise for THE PRISONER’S WIFE: “[bandele’s] writing soars with emotion. And the reader’s emotions soar as well, not because of shared experience but because her highly polished and skillful writing makes one feel her pain and joy.” (Booklist (starred review))

Praise for THE PRISONER’S WIFE: “Haunting, intense, emotional... mesmerizing and disconcerting, offering insights into why caged birds sing.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Praise for THE PRISONER’S WIFE: “asha bandele tells the story of a love that flourishes in the constricted space between freedom and captivity. This is a powerul and provocative book-- everyone should read it.” (Angela Y. Davis)

Praise for THE PRISONER’S WIFE: “The Prisoner’s Wife echoes Edwidge Danticat’s Farming of the Bones in the urgency in which it reminds us of the possibility of love even amidst the ruins. This is a terrifying, heart-breaking and, ultimately, important book.” (Junot Diaz)

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0061710393
• ISBN 13: 9780061710391
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208