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For author GodsGirl, the trials of life began at birth, when her mother abandoned her in the hospital. Her great-grandmother and her aunt fortuitously took her in. It was a difficult childhood; GodsGirl was strong-willed and defiant. She started using drugs, and, by age nineteen, had three children to care for. After struggling financially and working for a while as a housekeeper for Lacy in a house of ill repute, GodsGirl took her boys to Los Angeles, where she studied cosmetology and began to succeed in that profession. Involvement with a generous but violent man forced another move, this time to New York. After her youngest son was hit by a car and needed extensive care, she returned to California, where one day, watching an evangelistic program on TV, she experienced an almost instant conversion to Christianity, leading to the fulfillment of a long-held dream to assist and counsel at-risk young women.
This is a lively memoir, as the author has a notable gift for storytelling, and most especially, dialogue. She keeps the drama of her ever-changing life rolling with realistic conversations in the vernacular of her culture and a well-constructed narrative to fill in all the needed background facts. She highlights her personal challenges on four fronts: her conflict with her mother and her later wish to forgive; determination to be a strong example for her three sons; her attraction to exciting men who often proved troublesome and traitorous; and the religious convictions that led her away from her chaotic past into a settled, charity-directed lifestyle. Her enthralling life story projects special outreach to black girls, who, she believes, can pursue and achieve their dreams as she did. GodsGirl’s memoir will inspire and challenge its target audience and, through its honesty and realism, could change lives.