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Friday, June 13, 2014

Near Miscarriage


      “Two months after the wedding, I was in Marva’s yard playing skip with her daughters, unaware that skipping could cause me to miscarry my two-month old pregnancy. Later that night, I felt a terrible pain in my hip. My entire body ached. I could barely move. Fortunately, Tracy came home that night to bring me some of her delicious sweet potato pudding.”
      These are the opening sentences of “Jumping Hoops,” a story in my book: The Talking Palm:How the childhood storms of a young woman’s life remained hidden until a palm fruit started talking http://www.amzn.to/175EzBh
      Newly-wed Sheryl is pregnant. She knows that. But she is nineteen. When her teenage neighbors sound as if they are having so much fun jumping hoop, what does she do? Join the fun. So what if she is pregnant? She is invincible, isn't she? After all, she is a teenager. Do teenagers think they can get harmed when they do harmful things? Do they think they can hurt themselves or others when they do reckless things like drink and drive, or or rendezvous with strangers they meet through the internet?
      Sheryl is not deliberately pounding herself, or throwing herself against an object, or doing anything so stupid that a rock would know that she has gone too far. She is not even thinking about her baby, her first baby, her precious baby to come, one she cannot wait to see. She has no reason to.
      Her baby is safe. Deep inside of her. Nothing can go wrong since she is not expecting anything to go wrong. Right? As far as Sheryl knows, she is jut skipping. How can anything go wrong when she is just having a good time?
      Later that night, when pain engulfs her body, she realizes her mistake. Her idea of having fun is really a reckless act that has jeopardized the life of her baby
      Perhaps if the teens' mother had known that Sheryl was pregnant, she would have warned Sheryl against jumping hoop.
     Ether Jno-Charles
     Author: The Talking Palm:How the childhood storms of a young woman’s life remained hidden until a palm fruit started talking http://www.amzn.to/175EzBh

Monday, February 24, 2014

The Help Sheryl Speak Loud and Far Movement



     In “The Skerrit,” little Sheryl thinks she is going to die in a house in the ocean. She thinks she deserves such cruel punishment for her truancy. She also believes that no one, not even her mother, can rescue her from the tragedy that awaits her. So she stands alone, scared, powerless and silent before a powerful adult her culture has led her to believe has the absolute right to hurt her.
     Like Sheryl, thousands of girls around the world are led to believe that they deserve to be ill treated, dream-deprived, uneducated and silenced. Let us reverse that legacy for the silenced girls of the world by helping Sheryl speak loud and far. Make her voice reach at least one million people. We can do it. Together. With your help, Sheryl will no longer face the world alone. With your support, Sheryl’s voice will be heard.
You help broadcast Sheryl’s voice when you tell 5 people or more to get The Talking Palm at 
http://www.amzn.to/175EzBh
      Then tell each of the five or more to tell 5 others and so on.
     On behalf of the once silenced Sheryls of the world, I thank you.

     Esther Jno-Charles

Monday, February 17, 2014

Invited or not Invited to the Wedding

     In The Talking Palm, nineteen-year old Sheryl is preparing to get married, but she does not invite her closest friends and relatives. Sheryl lives in a small village where everyone knows who your friends are and who are not.       
     Therefore, not inviting close associates whom people expect to be invited will elicit vicious gossip and ill-will toward Sheryl. Sheryl knows that, and that bothers her. Yet, she does it anyway.
     Ladies, should your close friends and relatives be expected to be invited to your wedding? Which friends or relatives would you not or did you not invite to your wedding?
     Share your thoughts and or experiences.
     By Esther Jno-Charles

Book: The Talking Palm:How the childhood storms of a young woman’s life remained hidden until a palm fruit started talking: http://www.amzn.to/175EzB






Monday, February 10, 2014

Is Sheryl Psychologically Ready to Get Married?

     In The Talking Palm, nineteen-year old Sheryl is planning to get married, but she is very frustrated. Neither she nor her family can invite their relatives or friends to her wedding. According to Sheryl's fiancé, Marvin, Sheryl's associates are not religious folks (130-138).
      Yet, Sheryl or her family do not resist Marvin's demand or ask him to reciprocate. Instead, they grudgingly comply but complain behind his back.
      When Sheryl blindly obeys Marvin's demand without holding a serious discussion or calling for mutual compromise, is she setting up the stage for a disastrous relationship? Has she created an unhealthy template of how her husband should treat her in the future?
      Does Sheryl's misery about her decision to comply while simultaneously feeling powerless to direct her path show a fundamental flaw in Sheryl's character? Isn't she morally obligated to nurture her soul, which in turn will enhance the quality of her relationships? Is Sheryl mature enough to make right decisions for her good?
     What do you think? 
     By Esther Jno-Charles 

Read about Sheryl in The Talking Palm:How the childhood storms of a young woman’s life remained hidden until a palm fruit started talking http://www.amzn.to/175EzBh