Thursday, February 18, 2021

Black History Month - Day 18 Book Recommendation: Mama Day by Gloria Naylor


This story takes place on Willow Springs, one of the sea islands off the coast of Georgia,  located between Georgia and South Carolina yet doesn’t belong to either state. On this small island Black folks have lived since enslavement. The main character is a woman named Mama Day, a deeply spiritual healer who can command lightening and foresee things in her dreams. Her powers are continually “tested by her great niece, Cocoa, a stubbornly emancipated woman endangered by the island's darker forces.” (Vintage Contemporaries). Naylor’s novel is a Black story, yet it expresses in plain language varying complexities, challenges & mysteries people face or identify with in general, across the human spectrum. Mama Day is a powerful novel that spans generations, bridges southern traditions with NYC ways and incorporates faith & belief in healing rituals & traditional medicine.


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