hulaw94
New Member
My friend of almost 9 years, Yolanda Young, has recently had her first book published by Random House ("On Our Way To Beautiful"). She's currently doing her book tour/signings and as with any new author, she really needs our support during the early stages of the book's release. Please pick up her book and attend her book signing when it's in your city. I've included the dates in the e-mail. "On Our Way To Beautiful" would be an excellent book club selection. As you can see, she's gotten EXCELLENT reviews, so you know this will be a great read. Also, please pass the word.
Agape,
Elliott aka Hulaw94.
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ON OUR WAY TO BEAUTIFUL, By Yolanda Young
"Every flat-chested, straight-legged, awkward young girl knows the pains and hardships encountered in On Our Way to Beautiful. Thank you, Yolanda Young, for putting into words what most little girls feel in their hearts." -Iyanla Vanzant
"On Our Way to Beautiful is a powerful story of an ordinary woman who overcomes insurmountable obstacles to discover her place in the world, to find her voice as a writer and to heal wounds with her family. Young is successful on all three counts." -Essence
"Wonderfully well-written. [On Our Way to Beautiful is] accessible, believable and something that just about any high school girl--and all of us who used to be high school girls--should have in her backpack (or briefcase). This could become another I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." -A'Lelia Bundles, author of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madame C.J. Walker
"An uncommonly engaging book about learning to love oneself, one's family, and one's world. Events both momentous and small are rendered vividly [and Young] carefully remembers the people in her life. It is Young's storytelling skill, her ear for dialogue and her eye for picture that [will] broaden her appeal." -Publisher's Weekly
Read the 1st chapter at: http://www.onourwaytobeautiful.com or http://www.randomhouse.com/atrandom/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0375504931&view=excerpt
On Our to Beautiful (Villard Books; March 26, 2002; $21.95, Also available as an eBook) is not only Yolanda Young's warm and heartfelt memoir of growing up poor in Shreveport, Louisiana; it is the story of how a family's resilience, faith and values shaped a young girl's life in the face of despair. Reminiscent of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Rick Bragg's All Over But the Shoutin', Young's voice leaps off the page -- bracingly funny, full of hope, and singular in it's freshness.
Young grew up in the rambunctious but God-fearing town of Shreveport, Louisiana, where people prayed as hard as they gambled and loved as hard as they fought. It is a little city that wobbles between extremes, where juke joints squat next to churches, and betting slips compete with offering envelopes. The unpaved streets of Yolanda's neighborhood were lined with shotgun shacks, but lack of money didn't stop Yolanda's family from teaching her bedrock values.
In stories laced with Southern humor and spiritual enlightenment, Young introduces a host of unforgettable characters (including the town of Shreveport itself) that shaped the trajectory of her life. Instead of surrendering to the hopelessness, the poverty and the heat that persisted in her Louisiana existence, Yolanda and her family never allowed those elements to overtake them. Anchored in the spiritual convictions of her great-grandmother Big Momma (whose favorite phrase -- "Now, let's wend" -- always signaled the start of an adventure) and her grandmother Honeymoon (famous for her bone-crushing hugs), Yolanda's family was grounded in their faith and in each other. In this family, tales of great distress never fail to turn into opportunities for grace: Yolanda witnesses her father shoot her mother, but mother and daughter survive and grow stronger, facing the future together.
On Our to Beautiful unfolds tales of innocence and experience, wisdom and redemption, tragedy and deliverance: strong lessons on which Yolanda's life and her faith are based.
Book Signing Dates:
Chicago - Mon., April 8 - 7:00pm - Borders Books - 2210 W 95th Street
Detroit - Tues., April 9 - 6:00pm - Shrine of the Black Madonna - 13535 Liverniois
DC - Wed., April 10th, 6pm - Barnes&Noble - 12th & E, NW (Metro Center)
Atlanta - Fri., April 12 - 7:00pm - Barnes & Noble - 2900 Peachtree
Atlanta - Sat., April 13 - 3:00pm - Shrine of the Black Madonna - 946 Abernathy
Charlotte - Tues., April 23 - 7:00pm - Little Professor Book Ctr - 4139 Park Road
Richmond - Wed., April 24 - 7:00pm - Barnes & Noble - 1601 Willow Lawn Dr.
Philadelphia - Thurs., April 25 - 7:00pm - Barnes & Noble - 1805 Walnut Street
Baltimore - Wed., May 1 - 6:30pm - Enouch Pratt Library - 400 Cathedral Street
NYC - Wed., May 15 - 7:00pm - Borders - Park Ave. - 461 Park Avenue
Yolanda Young reaches millions of Americans every week through her nationally syndicated column, "On Our way to Beautiful." She is an attorney and a graduate of Howard University and Georgetown University Law Center. She lives in Washington, D.C. Visit her website at www.onourwaytobeautiful.com
For more information about Yolanda Young and On Our Way to Beautiful, please contact Todd Doughty in the Villard Publicity Department by phone (212/572-4995) or email.
Agape,
Elliott aka Hulaw94.
-------------------------------------------------
ON OUR WAY TO BEAUTIFUL, By Yolanda Young
"Every flat-chested, straight-legged, awkward young girl knows the pains and hardships encountered in On Our Way to Beautiful. Thank you, Yolanda Young, for putting into words what most little girls feel in their hearts." -Iyanla Vanzant
"On Our Way to Beautiful is a powerful story of an ordinary woman who overcomes insurmountable obstacles to discover her place in the world, to find her voice as a writer and to heal wounds with her family. Young is successful on all three counts." -Essence
"Wonderfully well-written. [On Our Way to Beautiful is] accessible, believable and something that just about any high school girl--and all of us who used to be high school girls--should have in her backpack (or briefcase). This could become another I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." -A'Lelia Bundles, author of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madame C.J. Walker
"An uncommonly engaging book about learning to love oneself, one's family, and one's world. Events both momentous and small are rendered vividly [and Young] carefully remembers the people in her life. It is Young's storytelling skill, her ear for dialogue and her eye for picture that [will] broaden her appeal." -Publisher's Weekly
Read the 1st chapter at: http://www.onourwaytobeautiful.com or http://www.randomhouse.com/atrandom/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0375504931&view=excerpt
On Our to Beautiful (Villard Books; March 26, 2002; $21.95, Also available as an eBook) is not only Yolanda Young's warm and heartfelt memoir of growing up poor in Shreveport, Louisiana; it is the story of how a family's resilience, faith and values shaped a young girl's life in the face of despair. Reminiscent of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Rick Bragg's All Over But the Shoutin', Young's voice leaps off the page -- bracingly funny, full of hope, and singular in it's freshness.
Young grew up in the rambunctious but God-fearing town of Shreveport, Louisiana, where people prayed as hard as they gambled and loved as hard as they fought. It is a little city that wobbles between extremes, where juke joints squat next to churches, and betting slips compete with offering envelopes. The unpaved streets of Yolanda's neighborhood were lined with shotgun shacks, but lack of money didn't stop Yolanda's family from teaching her bedrock values.
In stories laced with Southern humor and spiritual enlightenment, Young introduces a host of unforgettable characters (including the town of Shreveport itself) that shaped the trajectory of her life. Instead of surrendering to the hopelessness, the poverty and the heat that persisted in her Louisiana existence, Yolanda and her family never allowed those elements to overtake them. Anchored in the spiritual convictions of her great-grandmother Big Momma (whose favorite phrase -- "Now, let's wend" -- always signaled the start of an adventure) and her grandmother Honeymoon (famous for her bone-crushing hugs), Yolanda's family was grounded in their faith and in each other. In this family, tales of great distress never fail to turn into opportunities for grace: Yolanda witnesses her father shoot her mother, but mother and daughter survive and grow stronger, facing the future together.
On Our to Beautiful unfolds tales of innocence and experience, wisdom and redemption, tragedy and deliverance: strong lessons on which Yolanda's life and her faith are based.
Book Signing Dates:
Chicago - Mon., April 8 - 7:00pm - Borders Books - 2210 W 95th Street
Detroit - Tues., April 9 - 6:00pm - Shrine of the Black Madonna - 13535 Liverniois
DC - Wed., April 10th, 6pm - Barnes&Noble - 12th & E, NW (Metro Center)
Atlanta - Fri., April 12 - 7:00pm - Barnes & Noble - 2900 Peachtree
Atlanta - Sat., April 13 - 3:00pm - Shrine of the Black Madonna - 946 Abernathy
Charlotte - Tues., April 23 - 7:00pm - Little Professor Book Ctr - 4139 Park Road
Richmond - Wed., April 24 - 7:00pm - Barnes & Noble - 1601 Willow Lawn Dr.
Philadelphia - Thurs., April 25 - 7:00pm - Barnes & Noble - 1805 Walnut Street
Baltimore - Wed., May 1 - 6:30pm - Enouch Pratt Library - 400 Cathedral Street
NYC - Wed., May 15 - 7:00pm - Borders - Park Ave. - 461 Park Avenue
Yolanda Young reaches millions of Americans every week through her nationally syndicated column, "On Our way to Beautiful." She is an attorney and a graduate of Howard University and Georgetown University Law Center. She lives in Washington, D.C. Visit her website at www.onourwaytobeautiful.com
For more information about Yolanda Young and On Our Way to Beautiful, please contact Todd Doughty in the Villard Publicity Department by phone (212/572-4995) or email.