Embracing the Fire: Sisters Talk About Sex and Relationships (Julia A. Boyd) HC-Good

From the beloved bestselling author of In the Company of My Sisters comes a book on sexuality and relationships that is as intimate, sassy, and full of wisdom as the community it draws from. The sister circle is back – and serving up generous portions of straight talk and true confession, along with stories of love, lust, and heartbreak. From “The Baggage We Carry” and “I Am Not My Mother”s Daughter” to “Dating and Mating” and “Having Some Fun Talking Trash,” Embracing the Fire celebrates erotic potential, takes up the questions surrounding sexual attraction and self-esteem, and provides an open forum for exploration by Black women of all ages, sexual persuasions, and stages of life and relationships. Psychotherapist Julia A. Boyd shares some of her own personal history – how her own life and her approach to sexuality and intimate relationships have changed – along with the stories of her sister friends. From Zoey, who tells us that she”s the “shameless hussy type,” to Jonie, who worries about how to protect her twelve-year-old daughter, to Queenie, who plans to pray overtime for sisters she”s afraid are “gonna go straight to hell sure as I”m sittin” here,” the sister circle heralds a new era of openness and expression. The sisters air difficulties and offer their perspectives on sexual experimentation, the pain and recovery cycle of breakups, the comfort of long-term relationships, taboos and erotic exploration, and fears for children, brothers, and sisters in sexual encounters. All of the subjects our mothers whispered about, or discussed in coded language, are argued and laughed over by the sisters of Embracing the Fire. Once again Julia A. Boyd has given us a book that allows the hearts, minds, and spirits of Black women the respectful attention and full voice they so richly deserve.