Fifth Born II: The Hundredth Turtle

Fifth Born II: The Hundredth Turtle is set in both 1980’s rural Mississippi and New York’s Harlem. The novel tells the story of adult siblings Odessa Lacey and Lamont Blackburn. The two are estranged early in childhood by the lies and myths born of family pain but become emotionally reliant on each other for a sense of family. Following Lamont’s death from complications associated with the AIDS virus. Odessa is faced with her own grieving and with fulfilling Lamont’s request for connection with their siblings. The novel’s arc takes the reader over the complicated waters of family estrangement due to incest and homophobia. These difficult subjects are traversed melodically and lyrically landing the reader in the redemptive faith that adult survivors of abuse and their families have the potential to overcome obstacles set against them at birth.