Bend Don't Break

<p><strong>Finalist for the Wishing Shelf Independent Book Award</strong></p><p></p><p><strong></strong><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>An absorbing thought-provoking emotionally engaging and deftly scripted multi-generational historical novel.</strong><strong><em>-Midwest Book Review</em></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>For readers who appreciate historical fiction that centers Black voices and experiences this book is a must-read. It is a testament to the strength that resides in every Black woman's story-past present and future.-</strong><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)><em>Seattle Review</em></strong></p><p></p><p><strong></strong><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Julie L. Brown shows readers how certain populations especially women have been underestimated by history for hundreds- maybe even thousands-of years.</strong><strong>-</strong><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)><em>Reader Views</em></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Timely and unforgettable <em>Bend Don't Break</em> spans two centuries of American history and is a captivating testament to women's ambition and the unbreakable bond between Black mothers and their daughters.</strong></p><p></p><p>Drawing strength from their ancestor Aisha a slave born free on the west coast of Africa four Black women will do whatever is necessary to succeed-and will do even more to protect their daughters. Aisha's granddaughter Dinah a plantation slave fends off the advances of the master's son and vows to prevent the same mistreatment of her daughter Sarah. During the Harlem Renaissance Augusta an aspiring teacher falls in love for the first time. Her mother Julia is determined to prevent her from getting hurt. Attorney Olivia and her news producer daughter Nicole both seek success and equality in the white man's world of 1980s corporate life. And in the present day Sha a tech company chief information officer turns amateur detective after her daughter's assault.</p><p></p><p>Throughout the generations these women encounter similar challenges but face them in different ways and survive and thrive through all of it because they bend but do not break. They demonstrate that although generational trauma can be passed down like an inheritance so too can healing and resilience.</p>