The Ties That Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory, and Redemption - Tapa dura

When novelist Bertice Berry set out to write a history of her family, she initially believed she’d uncover a story of slavery and black pain, but the deeper she dug, the more surprises she found. There was heartache, yes, but also something unexpected: hope. Peeling away the layers, Berry came to learn that the history of slavery cannot be quantified in simple, black-and-white terms of “good” and “evil” but is rather a complex tapestry of roles and relations, of choices and individual responsibility.

In this poignant, reflective memoir, Berry skillfully relays the evolution of relations between the races, from slavery to Reconstruction, from the struggles of the Civil Rights movement and the Black Power 1970s, and on to the present day. In doing so, she sheds light on a picture of the past that not only liberates but also unites and evokes the need to forgive and be forgiven.

Bertice Berry, Ph.D., is a highly-sought-after motivational speaker to women’s groups, book clubs, and Fortune 500 corporations. She is the author of the novelsRedemption Song, The Haunting of Hip Hop, Jim and Louella’s Homemade Heart-Fix Remedy, andWhen Love Calls, You Better Answer. She lives in Richmond Hill, Georgia.