Warriors Don't Cry

I have never read a book quite like this one before. My writing teacher always tells us, "Write about what you know". I often think to myself, my life is so not that interesting so why would anyone want to hear about it? Although Melba's life is much more traumatic and demanding of her than mine is, I can see why people would write about what they know. If people didn't write about what they knew and they just assumed that everyone knew it, then we would most likely live in a very dark world where no one really seemed to understand other people. I feel as though these last three books have really given me a deeper understanding of what it meant to be a black American in history. I have never experienced the struggles of black people the way I have through these last three books. I have long since forgot about the fact that blacks still had a hard time "fitting in" to society even after slavery was abolished. I feel as though I was only taught textbook material, the standard: slavery existed, slavery was abolished, end of story. To have a book like this in classrooms would be so beneficial. I feel as though (in my hopeful mind) students may be more appreciative of their education and how easy it is for them to go to school and learn. I also loved the way God was incorporated into this book. My parents sent me to a Catholic school and God was shoved down my throat for the years that I attended that school. Although I do believe in God, I do not support some of the things that the Catholic church teaches and often struggle with my faith in that regard. I feel that the way God is presented in this book is a very gentle approach and I could see how it may be a problem for some parents, but at the same time I feel as though it isn't something that would be really stressed upon in classroom discussions. Overall, I feel this was an excellent book and also an excellent way to get students interested in autobiographies.