Black-Eyed Peas for the Soul: Tales to Strengthen the African American Spirit and Encourage the Heart

At first, Donna Marie Williams resisted the title that her editor gave this book before it was assembled; she feared that it would seem like a rip-off of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Yet as she gathered inspirational stories from African Americans she began to see the wisdom in the title. "Black-eyed peas are not a comfort food like chicken soup," Williams explains. They are a hearty bean, representing grit, determination, and wisdom, "an excellent metaphor for the sojourn of the Africans in America." This collection of real-life stories, which includes contributions from Zora Neale Hurston, Maya Angelou, and Andrew Young, has the heartiness of unstrained truth while still managing to be satisfying and uplifting, just like a steaming bowl of hoppin' John.