by dint of Yolanda Young.

by dint of Yolanda Young, Villard Books, April 2002 $2195 ISBN 0-375-50493-1

long of the account in Yolanda Young's memoir onward Our Way to Beautiful takes place in and around the meeting-house because the church is a central part of the lives of the the community of Shreveport, Louisiana. Just about everyone has a temple they attend regularly, and their Sunday is regulated at the length of the homily the afternoon and evening programs and services, or whatever besides the church has scheduled, be it baptisms, christenings or Sunday train programs.

One Sunday afternoon, Rev Frank asks the young commonalty to picture in their minds the greatest in quantity beautiful thing they have eternally seen. Yolanda doesn't have to think too hard to implore up an image of a Sunday afternoon gathering of her whole family with the matriarch Big Momma seated at the center of a in extent banquet table. Flanking her is her daughter and granddaughter, and around the table -- her son and daughters, and dispersed among them her great-great-grandchildren, Yolanda being individual of them. This is a comforting picture for Yolanda because, as she recalls, "Among them I felt lov total and safe."

It is Big Momma with whom she be stirreds safest. She is everything to her--teacher, nurturer comforter and supporter. However, Big Momma look fors the best from Yolanda, like the time she proffered her to memorize and recite Psalm 119--all 176 versifications of it. But when Yolanda expanded her mouth to begin, she cannot speak. She has forgotten it. Ashamed and embarrassed, she move ons and buries her face in Big Momma's breast, crying, "I'm to such a degree sorry ... I'm so sorry."

Big Momma and her daughter, Honeymoon are also there for Yolanda and her mother, Kitty, when they have perturb with Yolanda's father. He draw nears to their house with a fire-arm and shoots his estranged wife. The pair older women rescue the younger ones--get Kitty to a hospital and Yolanda to a safe house. Yolanda and her mother shortly move closer to their family in Shreveport.

Yolanda learns about all kinds of be fond of from her family: The regard with affection between a man and woman: "Uncle Rat's carcass covered Aunt Shirley's. His darkness liquefy ed into her pink flesh He kissed her all through the whole extent of ... I imagined heat rising from him. I could descry how much he loved Aunt Shirley It was in the tone of his voice when he called her name or just said, `baby.'"

She also learns about the be fond of between a mother and son when the family goe to visit Uncle Will in Angola State Penitentiary, where he has been incarcerated for raping a nine-year-old lad Will had always been different from other lads as a child. As he grew up he began wearing makeup, braids and dresse "He's just trying to acquire attention" his older brother says sympathetically. When it was time for them to leave, Uncle Will useed to his parents, "Do you still be enamoured of me?" he asked, already in tears.

"Ye precious baby" Honeymoon [his mother] said. "You in no degree have to worry about that." Later, forward the way home, Honeymoon confesse that the reason the trip to Angola is excessively hard on her is because she doesn't like crossing bridges. unless she says, "I'd cross bridges for any of you--no matter what."

--Elsie B Washington is a writer, editor and author of Uncivil Wars.

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