This Side of the Sky
Lilian and Myraleen first met as toddlers in 1930 in Mississippi. Growing up in the small black community of Nadir, their earliest aspirations were simply to escape. As years go by and they graduate, then move on to jobs as maids in a wealthy white household, they seem to be destined to stay. In their mid-twenties, both realizing that life is passing them by, they take a giant step and move north.
This Side of the Sky is a heart warming story of the life-long friendship and love that these two woman share. Through war, family problems, man trouble and the soul-numbing experiences of being black in America in the post-war years, nothing can intrude on their loyal friendship. The author has created two compelling characters: the wisecracking, no-nonsense Myraleen and the dreamer and idealist Lilian are women the reader wants to know. The experiences that they, two small town girls from the Deep South, share in the wider world, kept me engrossed. This is a book to be read in one sitting, watching two special women grow up and grow old with grace.
