Showing results by narrator "Machelle Williams" in All Categories

His dying wish is her hand in marriage. Felicia Jefferson and Morris Bryson have been best friends since childhood. Morris has always appreciated Felicia for standing by his side through his bouts with a lifelong disease. At age 16, they made a pact that if neither of them were married by the time she turned 35, they would marry one another. As fate would have it, at 36, his chronic illness worsens and he attempts to cash-in on his agreement with Felicia, wanting to experience marriage before he dies.

Final exam question #1: Is an independent woman destined to remain single forever, or can a wife training course turn a mess into a Mrs.? Thriving Atlanta mogul, Amber Ross, thinks she is the perfect woman. But when she finds out that her recent ex-boyfriend is marrying someone else, she begins to question what men really want. Frustrated with the dating scene and her failing interactions with men, Amber enrolls in a course at her church geared towards teaching women how to be effective in their relationships: Wife 101.

The voices in Keisha's head know where her fiancé has been left for dead, but who will believe her? Keisha Moore has a secret which has been kept hidden her entire life, but when her fiancé, Clifford Valdez, disappears and the authorities dismiss it as lovers' remorse, she has to tell somebody. Can she make anybody understand the four voices in her head are real, and they know where Clifford has been taken? How can she save the man she loves without revealing her deepest secret?

After Tony's fiancé goes missing, he becomes the police's prime suspect. His closest friend, Pam, is the only one who believes Tony's not involved with Yolanda's disappearance. With little other choice, the pair conduct their own investigation, and soon find themselves in the direct path of a killer madman called The Bald Man.

A wave of suicidal behavior has gripped the nation with no concern for race, gender, or age. Many think it's just a trend, but inspirational singer Candace Tremont knows better. Since witnessing the suicide of her husband five years prior, she's committed her life to fighting the spirit of depression. Unfortunately, suicidal thoughts and dreams also plague her mind, making the war more personal than anyone around her realizes. Unfulfilled with periodic and low-paying gigs, Candace yearns for an opportunity to touch more lives.

Donna Goodman never wanted to be a preacher's wife. Nevertheless, falling in love with Pastor Walter Goodman was unexpected, thrusting her into a lifestyle that she feared most. Unwilling to accept the role of a perfect wife, Donna left Walter and his congregation behind. Enter Tracy. Beautiful yet damaged, Tracy Broussard wants one thing only - to be loved. Instant chemistry between Tracy and the separated Walter leads her to believe that her dreams are finally coming true.

Troubled is a true story based on the life of Maranda Evans. After the tragic death of a few loved ones, she struggles to find her purpose in life over a 10-year period. While losing everything, Maranda forgets what she learned as a child. Abuse, love, and scandalous men break her down piece by piece. Will she make it through these struggles and become the woman she always wanted to be, or will her bad decisions ruin her life forever?

For hopeless romantic Sylvie Gates, there's nothing quite as magical as a New Year's Eve kiss. So as the clock nears midnight at her best friend's party, Sylvie makes a beeline for the sexiest guy in the room. A happily-ever-after would be nice of course, but Sylvie's trying to live in the moment. Plus, she's about to begin the biggest project of her interior design career, so she better just enjoy her last night of freedom...

The novel examines three coexisting 19th-century American cultures: the privileged world of the South's antebellum slave holding, White Planter Society; the oppressed communities of the Black slaves; and the noble, nomadic hunter-gatherer society of the plains Indians. The turbulent events of this time in American history results in the two sisters finding themselves living in and experiencing the three cultures, and one sister is forced to choose between her lifelong love for her sibling and the love that develops between her and a Comanche Warrior.

If life hasn't turned out the way you planned, you're not alone. Cancer comes. Loved ones die. Spouses leave. Dreams slip through our fingers. Anxiety and depression steal precious seasons. But what if you knew you weren't alone in your pain and that sorrow isn't in the end of the story? In this 100-day devotional, the (in)courage community comes alongside you when your heart is grieving, your faith is shaking, or it's just one of those mundane hard days. In these vulnerable stories, you won't find tidy bows or trite quick fixes, but you will find arrows pointing you straight to Jesus.

Racial Opportunity Cost turns critical attention to the specific challenges faced by high-achieving students of color and gives educators a framework for recognizing and addressing these issues. Terah Venzant Chambers roots her discussion in the concept of racial opportunity cost, using a term borrowed from economics to refer to the obstacles faced and tradeoffs made by Black and Latinx students on the path to academic success.

God created us with a supernatural capacity to interact with him in deeply spiritual ways; our genetic code is uniquely wired to sense and know him. Yet many believers shy away from this experiential knowledge, unsure how to fully engage with God, wondering what the Bible really says about it. Clearing away the confusion, prophetic leader and teacher Venner J. Alston not only gives you a biblical framework for encountering God, but also encourages you to expect it.

Based on ethnographic observations and interviews with prisoners, correctional officers, and civilian staff conducted in solitary confinement units, Way Down in the Hole explores the myriad ways in which daily intimate interactions between those locked up twenty-four hours a day and the correctional officers charged with their care, custody, and control produce and reproduce hegemonic racial ideologies.

In 1980’s Brooklyn, Key is enchanted with her world, glowing with her dreams. A charming and tender doula serving the Black women of her East New York neighborhood, she lives, like her mother, among the departed and learns to speak to and for them. Her untimely death leaves behind her mother Audrey, who is on the verge of losing the public housing apartment they once shared. Colly, Key’s grieving son, soon learns that he too has inherited this sacred gift and begins to slip into the liminal space between the living and the dead on his journey to self-realization.

Teaching to Live: Black Religion, Activist-Educators, and Radical Social Change interrogates the stories of African American activist-educators whose faith convictions inspired them to educate in radical and transformative ways. Almeda M. Wright explores the connections between religion, education, and struggles for freedom within twentieth-century African American communities by telling the stories of key African American teachers.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith and Lori Stanley Roeleveld enter a transparent and open dialogue about race, privilege, bias, and discrimination. As you witness the real-time process of meaningful discussion, you'll see how these women model healthy conversations—giving voice to pain without blame, expressing anger without ridicule, and asking questions without guilt.

After eleven years trapped in the Spadros crime syndicate, 23-year-old private eye Jacqueline Spadros is an independent woman, free to run her investigation business. But her problems are only beginning. Deeply in debt, Jacqui is in danger from both the rogue Spadros men calling themselves “The Ten of Spades” and the ruthless Red Dog Gang — who may be one and the same. Jacqui is determined to find Black Maria, the key to the identity of the Red Dog Gang’s secretive leader. To survive long enough to do that, Jacqui needs a paying case.

Meet Ymo — the young, bold, sarcastic, and struggling test subject for medical trials — who decides to shed her gender, her body, and her ability to dream for a second chance at life as a robot. Fans of William Gibson and Margaret Atwood will be mesmerized by this fast-paced tale of survival in a not-too-distant future, seen through the eyes of a rebellious and free-spirited young woman coming to terms with who she is for the first time.