UPLYFF, INC. PRESENTS... - Literature

Sisterhood Heals: The Transformative Power of Healing in Community by Dr. Joy Harden Bradford

5/18/2025

Review by

Voncille Wratee

This book had some practical reflective exercises and well as stories that will have you going "Mmm Hm!" Dr. Joy highlights the necessity and benefits of Black women coming together to heal themselves individually as well as collectively just by being with other Black women. Black women's mental health is strongly encouraged to be protected and group therapy is advocated for immensely. The book is definitely a must read and will have you saying "Oh yeah!" Highly recommended. Salaam.

Jilted by Niko Michelle

4/20/2025

Review by

Voncille Wratee

Imagine working on your wedding day. Well that's sort of what happened to Avery with her per diem shift after she walked down the aisle and delivered her soon to be husband's baby all the because the minister asked if anyone objects to her being married. Phew! What a way to start a life....literally. The story unfolds from that moment and it is just a roller coaster ride after that. Niko Michelle gives a story of interpersonal relating, character development that almost didn't make it and the power of time as a healer. If you want a juicy page turner and an ah ha every few pages then this book is one to review.

The Thread Collectors by Shaunna Edwards and Alyson Richman

4/20/2025

Review by

Voncille Wratee

The authors wanted to highlight what the path of the mixed race and musicians might have looked like during slavery and the civil war. Both of whom may very well have not been worked as the average person who was enslaved but worked in bondage nevertheless. This story weaves together the lives of people from the north and the south who may very well never have crossed paths under normal circumstances but the war leads them directly to each other. Stella, from Louisiana, and Lily, from New York, were beloveds to the military men who were stationed together in the same infantry unit in the south. These women did what they could to ensure their men were spiritually protected with their threads given their circumstances. The authors research gave the story a creative plot that featured the themes of the civil war such as political views, slavery, abolition, women's suffrage, colorism, fear, love and hope. Read this book and see what stories thread your memories of collection.

Black Girls Must Be Magic by Jayne Allen

3/16/2025

Review by

Voncille Wratee

Black Girls Must Be Magic is the sequel to Black Girls Must Be Exhausted and part of a trilogy with the third book being Black Girls Must Have It All. The book can definitely stand alone but I would recommend starting with the first so that the story can have the first book as case history. We meet Tabitha at a crossroad in her life where she makes a major decision about becoming a mother and with life's twists and turns it is definitely not how she planned or expected. Tabitha learns so much about herself in this book that it will have you reevaluating your life, "Like hey! Wait a minute! I think I would like..." This book tackles issues faced in the African American community such as single parenthood, various relationships, inner strength and faith and making sure your voice is heard and acknowledged. After reading this book, you may want to become a rule challenger.

Island Queen by Vanessa Riley

11/5/2023

Review by

Voncille Wratee

Island Queen is a well crafted story about a mulatto woman whose life runs from slavery to being a free woman in the Caribbean. She demonstrated a love for her family and was tortured by love on a plethora of levels. She continuously dealt with colorism, women's rights and building her legacy. Formal education was never in her cards however, she was well learned and well versed in a host of matters, especially interpersonal and legal. The author delivered this piece of work in a way that was subtly overt. This book is thought provoking, heart pulling and inspirational. I would highly recommend Island Queen by Vanessa Riley, as it has a wealth of stories in which to have introspection.

My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies

8/1/2023

Review by

Voncille Wratee

You may have heard that someone was told that he or she acts just like a family member who may have been one or two generations before this person’s time. This person may have the same personality or mannerisms as the family member who came before them. That is because we carry memory in our blood and DNA. Resmaa Menakem highlights how racial trauma is passed from generation to generation and the affects are apparent with black and white people and police officers. He offers community healing exercises for each group individually and collectively. The author has theoretical and practical pathways for shifting the memory in the blood and DNA. This book may trigger some deeply rooted emotions in the beginning but will move the reader towards a view that will allow for some deep breaths to shift those feelings. The book can be referred to often for continued group healing.

Finding Me

5/28/2023

by

Voncille Wratee

How fitting that a questioned asked by a renown actor sparked such a memoir. I felt a resonance with the question, "Who are you?" asked of Viola. In "Finding Me" by Viola Davis she was able to take us all on a journey that was full of roadblocks, inclimate weather, tough decisions and ultimately a curated arrival.

Viola seems to be synonymous with Voila! as she is definitely a presence in the acting community. Her road to success is explained in such relatable way and filled with her raw emotions. By the end of the memoir I felt a sigh of relief as her journey is truly breathtaking.

The Fire Next Time

2/6/2022

by

Voncille Wratee

James Baldwin speaks of his experiences with race, religion, oppression, pain, will and heart of African Americans. His words demonstrate the need for African Americans to continue to strive for their humanity and dignity in a country where they are seen as less than human and inferior.

Baldwin tackles interviews with legendary figures Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X as we learn of their human dynamics towards one another, expectations and styles of these iconic figures.

Even though this book was written during the civil rights movement, the words still resonate decades into the future for the same issues are faced over a half century later.

Enjoy the many covers of The Fire Next Time
as they evolved over the years..

The Spirit of Intimacy

12/6/2021

by

Ginaya
Donnette

In a cute pocket-sized, manual-style text, Sobonfu Some' gives us an in-depth analysis of the cultural expectations of marriage and relationships through the lens of the Afrikan village. In her upbringing in a small village in Burkina Faso she explains how relationships worked there. They encompassed an environment of people who, regardless of position, were seen as either a mother/father or sister/brother. It is a society where the village is a group of people held nearest and dear to us; those who you share your desires and hopes with and depend on for advice and counsel.

Some' demonstrates how for some of us lost in the diaspora we have still held on to our source of culture and societal structure in some ways. Specifically, we include all of our family and so called extended family as very involved in our commitments including the marriage union. For Black families topics like divorce not only effect the two people but everyone involved and it becomes a complicated ordeal partly because you are married not just to a person but to a village. The village reminds us that to be successful in the creation and even the dissolution of bonds we must consult with those around us.

A great take away from this book was the use and importance of rituals to maintain harmony in our relationships. Some gives detailed advice on the purpose, intention and protocol for holding rituals and the tools for preparing a sacred space and building of a shrine. There is no set standard but there are traditional ways to invoke the spirits of your ancestors. Most importantly, it begins with having people involved in the ritual who are also committed to the good energy that is being created. Collectively, there is a belief that the things you wish to obtain already exist somewhere inside you. Ultimately, the ritual helps to give you the healing energy necessary to manifest all of which you desire in your bond.

The Souls of Black Folk - Who Are We?

9/20/2021

By

Wulgar
Darkenwald, Jr.

W. E. B. DuBois’ 1903 seminal work, “The Souls of Black Folks”, is a series of essays that are articulate, poignant and poetic, thought provoking and heartbreaking. They paint an almost bleak picture of black life upon the canvas of post-Civil War and Reconstructionist America where an once enslaved race has gained its freedom without the resources, skills, and opportunities necessitated to be “free” within the Jim Crow society.

Struggling with the very notion of what it is and means to be of color within that world. “The Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American World, a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of the world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness, —an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”

The work describes American society at the turn of the 20th century, now more than a hundred years hence are we that far removed? Do we know ourselves let alone our souls?

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