“You live, and you learn” is an idiom we have all heard often, and those lessons can come at a disproportionately high cost when it comes to relationships. Learning to navigate the roads of life and love can be difficult, but author Melissa Owens has resolved to keep moving up despite past mistakes. A heartbreak, however painful, can always be an opportunity to discover a new truth, whether it be about yourself or the world around you, and it should never be viewed as the end of the world regardless of its hurt.

A Black Woman’s Journey: Memoirs Of Love, Pain Loss, Comfort, and Forgiveness is Melissa’s personal travels through relationships as she tries her best to become more than her childhood and inopportune beginnings. She begins by acknowledging the societal influences that lead women of color toward a life of unfilled and unrequited love, then immediately jumps into her own story with no hesitation.

Pulling no punches, Owens unflinchingly talks about her teen pregnancy, her first genuinely satisfying sexual experience. In these situations, she’d thought she’d found “the one” and every bit of good, bad, and ugly in between. It’s a fast-paced memoir that shows the power of perseverance and learning to recognize your own needs. Owens never shies away from her own flaws, fleshing them out as naturally and objectively as if she were talking about anyone else. This story could easily be received as a cautionary tale, but at its heart, it is more optimistic than that, telling others to live a life without regrets. Owens detailed an immense amount of pain and heartbreak, all at a relatively young age, but her message is always to focus on yourself and move on. Personal accountability plays heavily into her story to a refreshing degree.

I enjoyed A Black Woman’s Journey as it was a quick read and didn’t get into much depth with any of the encounters. However, it was an interesting insight into the resilience that is necessary for survival sometimes, whether it’s within the world of dating or just life in general. In addition, Owens writes with a candor that makes it seem as if she were beside you, simply having a conversation, which makes it a much more personal read.

Pages: 72 | ASIN : B0BD5F8L6D

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/01/24/a-black-womans-journey/