A Place Called Home (Short Story Collection)

This collection of short stories explores what it means to be part of the African Diaspora in America. Each character, despite different life experiences, suffers from a profound sense of alienation. Each is searching for that elusive place called "home." We see a middle-class couple at a crossroads in their careers, their marriage, and their lives. A child whose mother is on crack tries to win a spelling bee with no parental support. We revisit the memories of a homeless man who had once been a talented singer. A father returns home to his adolescent daughters after a seven-year absence. An adoptee wonders about reuniting with her birth mother. A dark-skinned woman questions the role she has played in the family in the shadow of her light-skinned sister. This sacred place is what this offering is about-this quest for "home"-be it spiritual or physical. Home is the center, which all human beings seek to reach. These characters are all displaced through their race, place in time, or moment in history. They reside in a spiritual "wasteland" and it is their job to define-and obtain-"home."