Eyes Wide Shut

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Psalm 127:3

This is a scripture that every parent should heed, but few do. Inside the pages of My Son’s Wife, the latest page-turner from author Shelia Lipsey, readers will come face-to-face with the bi-product of parental neglect.

For First Lady Audrey Graham keeping up appearances is her ministry. If they can see it they can achieve it seems to be her personal mantra. For all intent and purposes she is the consummate first lady in every sense of the word, or is she. As you are given a look inside the private life of the Graham family, the façade of perfection begins to lose its luster.

Stiles has followed in his father’s footsteps and will soon ascend to the pastoral throne. His sister Francesca is a mystery no one, but her best friend Rena understands. When Rena and Stiles become engaged, the lid on the pot of Francesca’s questionable past and present threatens all that their mother holds dear.

Author Lipsey is to be commended for presenting a work with subject matter most do not touch beyond superficial means. With skill she opens eyes to that which statistics is showing as growing at an alarming rate within the Christian community. Equal skill is applied to addressing the subject in a way that will provoke readers to thought and possibly reassessing how they may have or are currently treating those considered to be – not the norm.

It is this reviewer’s hope that there will be more authors stepping out of the shadows to present works of standards that speak to the social ills most refuse to touch.


My Wife’s Son
Urban Christian
Available at: Amazon
ISBN-10: 1601629710
ISBN-13: 978-1601629715

AUTHOR SHELIA LIPSEY

My Son’s Wife:
Sinful revelations that only a loving and forgiving God can make right.

But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:15 – 17 New Living Translation

Dialogue With The Author

Reading My Wife’s Son often brought to mind the story from the bible regarding Jacob and the favoritism he harbored for two of his sons. It also made me extremely aware of a need for more books that speak to the dysfunction viewed as normal within the family unit.

Dialogue with the author, Shelia Lipsey reveals her concern for having healthy families. “My Son’s Wife is not merely a story about favoritism and family problems, it is one that reveals how delicate the human heart can be and how easily even God’s children can be the subject of mockery, ridicule, hate and persecution caused by things they experience in life. It further reveals to what depths humankind is willing to go to hide the truth about their lives in order to preserve what we want others to believe about us.”

Candidly she remarks that this is consciously and unconsciously done without realizing the consequence attached to our actions. “I arrived at this conclusion because unfortunately some of the most tragic conflicts happen within the family. Those incidences include, but are not limited to domestic violence committed by parents and children, murder, jealousy that leads to numerous and often sad and disappointing outcomes, as well as a separation of the family and a brokenness of the relationship Christian families once professed to have with God.

My Son’s Wife reveals that even during the darkest moments of our lives, the worse mistakes we’ve made, the horrible suffering from the sins we commit, that God is all loving, and remains sovereign. He looks upon us and instead of seeing the filthiness of sin, He sees our hearts, our frailties, our weaknesses, and He loves us – still. His power of redemption and willingness to forgive us of our sins and cast them as far as the east is from the west, is a story that can calm even the savage beast.”

In closing I wanted our author to tell you what her hopes are for those who will read the novel. Without hesitation her response reached beyond the surface to touch my soul. “Do not allow the title My Son’s Wife misguide you because it addresses a number of family issues other than marriage. My Son’s Wife is the perfect book for parents, for young adults, for singles, for those who know God and for those who choose not to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior; this is a story that can pierce the toughest heart and penetrate the bitterness, the feeling of loss and failures of ordinary people, from ordinary means, in extraordinary situations and circumstances of life.”

Shelia E. Lipsey is a native Memphian. She attended Belhaven College in Jackson , Mississippi , graduating magna cum laude with a BBA degree. Lipsey, a published author, professional copyeditor and inspirational speaker has been actively writing and speaking most of her life. Lipsey has written several short stories and over 200 poems which she has plans of publishing in the near future. Her novels with Urban Books are entitled, Into Each Life (Jan. ’07), Sinsatiable (Aug.’07).

Among Lipsey’s list of literary accomplishments and affiliations, she was awarded Conversations Book Club 2008 Author of the Year (thebestbookclub.info), Dallas Morning News Bestselling Author ’07, Urban Knowledge Memphis Bestselling Author ‘07; Founding president Memphis African American Writers Group (MAAW), president UC His Glory Book Club (uchisglorybookclub.net) Founder of Living Your Dreams Now (livingyourdreamsnow.net) online member of Black Writers Christian Network (bwchristian@yahoogroups.com), Booknibbler_Christian, Black, Copy Editor (www.shelialipsey.com).

Lipsey is also a contributing blogger for Sankofa Literary Society (sankofaliterarysociety.org), guest columnist at Blogginginblack.com, as well as several other online literary groups.

Second Annual On Assignment Think Pink for Breast Cancer Event

October has been set aside as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month; it is also the birth month of my eldest son.

Last year I wanted to do something that would honor Debra Beed (his mother) and Dean Lewis (my aunt) who lost their battle with breast cancer. To that end I proposed to donate $1.00 to breast cancer research for each person who left a comment on this blog during the month of October. This year On Assignment Publishing is increasing its donation to $2.00 per post left.

Please help us help others by stopping by, leaving a comment and encouraging others to do the same. Comments are not limited to discussion of breast cancer for there will be other discussions during the month. The goal is to amass numbers for donating to this necessary research.

Linda!

Breast Cancer

Women get breast cancer when cells in the breast don't grow right and a tumor forms. Getting a mammogram (x-ray of the breast) can help find the cancer early. This gives a woman more treatment options and makes it more likely she will survive the cancer.

African American women are more likely than all other women to die from breast cancer. Tumors are found at a later, more advanced, stage so there are fewer treatment options. Some reasons for this may include not being able to get health care or not following-up after getting abnormal test results. Other reasons may include distrust of the health care system, the belief that mammograms are not needed, or not having insurance.

We do not know how to prevent breast cancer. But there are things you can do to reduce your risk, such as keeping a healthy weight and limiting how much alcohol you drink.

There are things you can do to find breast cancer early:

• Get a mammogram. It is the best way to find out if you have breast cancer. A mammogram is an x-ray picture of the breast. It can find breast cancer that is too small for you or your doctor to feel. All women starting at age 40 should get a mammogram every one to two years. Talk to your doctor about how often you need a mammogram. If your mother or sister had breast cancer, you may need to start getting mammograms earlier.

A breast self-exam and a clinical breast exam are not substitutes for mammograms.

• Get a clinical breast exam. This is a breast exam done by your doctor or nurse. She or he will check your breasts and underarms for any lumps, nipple discharge, or other changes. The breast exam should be part of a routine check up.

• Get to know your breasts. You may do monthly breast self-exams to check for any changes in your breasts. If you find a change, see your doctor right away.