The Road from Money: The Journey Continues. Sylvester Boyd, Jr. GEM Publishing, November 17, 2017, Trade Paperback.
Reviewed by Dr. Margaret Brown.
Money, Mississippi is a notorious small town named for Hernando Money, a United States Senator from The Magnolia State. Estella’s courageous story evolves from within the breath of a small cotton community to a new home in Chicago with her Uncle Leamon by the age of twenty. In this story, the writer focuses on the heartbeat of institutionalized racism and segregation through the eyes of a young black woman. Estella’s rich experiences enable her to befriend a Jewish woman that shares similar memories of living in a racist world. Estella is learning about her new environment in the North as the world around her transforms. Navigating through life’s difficult times, Estella builds a new foundation, friendships, and relationships that teach her to love and respect others. Estella realizes that racism lies in the heart of man.
What I enjoyed most about reading Sylvester Boyd Jr.’s work, The Road from Money: The Journey Continues, was the connectivity I experienced. I felt as though I were Estella’s shadow throughout the entire book. The author was clever in the manner in which he unweaves a portion of America’s painful past. The reality of our past was presented in such a manner that others understand the struggles of what life was like for African Americans then and is still like now. I recommend this book because the story captivated my attention from the first sentence.