Adam's Belle: A Memoir of Love Without Bounds

Adam's Belle is a first-person narrative of Isabel's life from her early childhood days as a baby drama queen in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia to her stage debut at Harlem's famous Cotton Club in the 1920's. Isabel soon meets a real life Prince Charming Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. The two fall madly in love and plan to share their heaven on earth for the rest of their lives. She helps him to grow as an individual and a civil rights activist and is considered as the Queen of Harlem as the First Lady of Abyssinian Baptist Church. Eventually, Adam decides to run for Congress and becomes the first black Congressman representing Harlem. With much pain and agony, Isabel learns that not all fairy tales have a happy ending. Ultimately, she develops the strength to celebrate herself and even overcome breast cancer on her 100-year journey to becoming a true living legend. Belle's older sister was Fredi Washington (star of the Academy Award nominated 1934 film Imitation of Life ).