What Keeps Me Standing: Letters from Black Grandmothers on Peace, Hope and Inspiration |
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What Keeps Me Standing: Letters from Black Grandmothers on Peace, Hope and Inspiration
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by Dennis Kimbro
Sales Rank: 311848
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$4.49
At Amazon
on 6-20-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 288 pages
Published by: Harlem Moon April 5, 2005
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0767912381
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0767912389
Book Dimensions:
8 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
Weighs: 8 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
"As anyone who has ever achieved the impossible can tell you, to move forward you've got to step out and do or say something that may make zero sense to anyone but you." This advice from Lucille Singleton, who first ran (and completed) the New York City Marathon at age 76, exemplifies the kind of astringent wisdom offered in this volume. Kimbro asked a thousand grandmothers to write letters to the next generation, and he reprints their responses here. A project that could have resulted in a mawkish collection of truisms is saved by the voices of the women themselves: these women have lived long, and sometimes hard, and they write forcefully-sometimes with grace and always with conviction. Although some of the authors' lives can seem distant in their hardship (growing up picking cotton in Jim Crow Louisiana, for example), they are examined unsentimentally, with an appreciation for what can be gained through tough circumstances. "Today, when my children ask, 'What is success?,' I answer, 'It ain't standing still.' Quit crying and shuffling your feet. Show up, stand up, suit up, speak up, and fight the good fight." Faith plays a crucial role in these women's lives, as does family, education and good works. Many are appalled at what they see as a lack of morality today-too much violence, too many drugs and the dissolution of the family. Some, after raising one generation, are now raising their children's children as well. If there's a false note in this volume, it's brought in by Kimbro. The author of such books as Think and Grow Rich and What Makes the Great Great, Kimbro writes introductions that are too reminiscent of Dale Carnegie ("Fulfilling your potential is not your choice, it is your divine obligation"), and that feel like the only inauthenticities in an otherwise honest book.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
Kimbro (Think and Grow Rich, 1991; What Makes the Great Great, 1997) spent five years interviewing hundreds of black grandmothers, "each skilled in the art of living." The result is a collection of inspiring letters, poems, scriptures, prayers, and well-earned wisdom and advice. Despite the commonality of race, sex, and age (60 and older), the contributors were otherwise quite diverse--professionals, domestics, politicians--and from a variety of places, including the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and West Africa. The contributors recall the formative experiences of their lives, including picking cotton in Louisiana and suffering through the Great Depression, offering commentary on changes in social mores as well as enduring lessons on life for their offspring and the generations to follow. Kimbro begins each chapter with personal observations and an overview of the general topic, including hope, gratitude, history, the future, love, friendship, family, and religion. This is a sage and inspiring collection that passes on words of wisdom, faith, and support. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: What Keeps Me Standing: Letters from Black Grandmothers on Peace, Hope and Inspiration (Hardcover)
Dennis Kimbro set about contacting the sages of our time; our grandmothers. He asked each woman to write a letter to her children and tell them something about life. WHAT KEEPS ME STANDING is Kimbro's excellent compilation of these letters. Our grandmothers are the backbone of the African-American community. Their eyes have born witness to countless events. Their hands have toiled in ways that we will never know. Their arms have offered comfort through some of life's most challenging times. Their eyes have shed tears of sadness, while their hearts have leapt for joy at the achievements of their people. These are the ones that have stories to tell that are typically not passed down in the history books. These valedictorians of the school of hard knocks are our Black grandmothers. The pages in this book pass on infinite pearls of wisdom, causing the reader to give pause and reflect on each letter. In one letter, a grandmother writes, "It is not enough to be good; we must be good for something." Another writes, "When you serve others first, you serve yourself best." This book offers profound wisdom that does its very best to capture the epitome of the human spirit. One particular letter that touched me stated to always remember that you are "still a student, still learning every day to be human...to have a live a life full of grace and mercy." Mr. Kimbro should be commended for his efforts and shown sincere appreciation for setting about the task of collecting the wisdom of our elders, our grandmothers. WHAT KEEPS ME STANDING does not disappoint. This is a must read for all who are seeking enlightenment, encouragement and self-reflection. Reviewed by Nedine of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
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What Keeps Me Standing: Letters from Black Grandmothers on Peace, Hope and Inspiration
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Price: $4.49
Updated on 6-20-2008.
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