I promised my mother

There is a deeply-rooted saying, “Promises are made to be broken.” A promise is a verbal declaration. Such an oath, really is enduring when you make a vow to someone you dearly love. A broken promise is heart breaking. After breaking a promise to a love one, is there redemption? Can you resolve, repair, or mend the broken pieces of a dissolved promise?

The story of my 3^rd grandmother Mariah, born a slave, survived the horrors of slavery, and owned acre of land, known as “The Lands of Mariah Johnson,” have been passed down. As tradition would dictate, I passed the stories down to my children.

 I was in an auspicious position of knowing the oral history of my family. My family’s history, at times, especially when I was a child, seemed to be a fantastic story. Although, I knew that my mother and aunt spoke earnestly, I could not capture their moments of reminisces. I could not grasp the historical context of living within a time where color, class and gender were synonymous with servitude, slavery and inequality. Therefore, I lived in their moment and listened. I listened to their thoughts and memories. While, in that precious moment of time, I learned that I am, all that I am, because of their sacrifice.

Years before my dear mother passed away, she said to me, “Please research our family tree.” My mother knew that I had a genuine appreciation for family history. “I will Mother, not now, I’ll do it later,” I answered. In 2006, after my mother’s death, I was immersed in grief. For a couple of months, I cried myself to sleep. Then late one night, when I remembered my mother’s words, “Follow the trail of the land, the land speaks.” the search for my ancestors began. I struggled through the pain of anguish, wiped my tears, buried my regrets and decided to research my family tree.

After 7 years of research, in 2012, I fulfilled my promise to my mother. I wrote, “Human Property Hanging in the Family Tree Yields a Harvest,” the true story of my 3^rd great grandmother, Mariah. At times, I am still haunted by not fulfilling my promise. A broken promise is heart breaking. I have learned that ‘time’ moves on even when we stand still.

Happy Mother’s Day; to all those mothers, who love us unconditionally. If you make a promise to your mother, please keep it and remember that time waits for no one.

In honor of Mother Day, I will give away 4 Paperback books go to Goodreads.com before May 30, 2012  http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/25195-human-property-hanging-in-the-family-tree-yields-a-harvest

Book Information:

Published date 01/27/2012. ISBN: 978-1-62030-045-9. The book contains 207 pages, 50,000 words, 7 photographs with 4 photographs with courtesy/permission. This work contains 11 pages of Bibliography. Available in 6x9 perfect bound.

Book available (for $15.00) at The Book Patch http://www.thebookpatch.com/BookStoreDetails.aspx?BookID=5382

Also in honor of Mother’s Day, Kindle EBook will be free on May 17-18 2012.

http://www.amazon.com/Property-Hanging-Family-Harvest-ebook/dp/B00727LLKC/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329162632&sr=1-1-spell