Indeed, this is a fine portrait of what it means to be a single mom-a mom, period-in America. “We should all be blessed with the intellect and insight bandele brings to motherhood-the struggles, the joys, the fears, and the hope. It is the love that comes through that makes this such a compelling tale.” ( Nikki Giovanni, poet)

“Once again asha bandele has a poignant story to share in Something Like Beautiful. Woven into the mother-daughter story, Bird's life of hope and heartbreak is beautifully told, his dreams of college, family, and work destroyed even before his murder. Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother's Story When Asha Bandele fell in love with a prisoner serving a twenty-to-life sentence and became pregnant with his daughter, she had reason to hope they would. Bandele, an editor for Essence magazine and author of the memoir The Prisoner's Wife (1999), writes about family grief and bitterness with searing immediacy. Despite having a great job at a high-profile magazine and a beautiful daughter whom she adored, Asha began drinking and smoking and stumbled into a relationship that opened new wounds-descending into depression when her life should have been filled with love and joy.Ī lyrical, astonishingly honest memoir, Something Like Beautiful is not only Asha’s story but also the story of thousands of women who struggle daily with little help and much against them. Suddenly a statistic-a black single mother in New York City-Asha kept it together on the outside while falling apart on the inside. Her husband, Rashid, was denied parole and told he’d be deported to his native Guyana once released. But soon after Nisa was born, Asha’s dreams were shattered. When Asha Bandele fell in love with a prisoner serving a twenty-to-life sentence and became pregnant with his daughter, she had reason to hope they would live together as a family.

Daughter by Asha Bandele