Showing results by narrator "Machelle Williams" in All Categories

When the organizing committee for her upcoming high school reunion needs a caterer, Halia agrees to help out. Soon she's serving up her signature macaroni and cheese and famous chicken wings to a host of appreciative ex-classmates. Some folks have blossomed since graduation. Others, like manipulative Raynell Rollins, currently married to a former football star, haven't changed nearly enough. When Raynell is found dead the morning after the reunion, the role call of possible suspects could fill the school gymnasium. Extramarital affairs, mega-church scandals and sports secrets...

Jane Eyre has no interest in a husband. Eager to make her own way in the world, she accepts the governess position at Thornfield Hall. Though her new employer, Edward Rochester, has a charming air—not to mention a handsome face—Jane discovers that his smile can sharpen in an instant. Plagued by Edward’s mercurial mood and the strange wails that echo through the corridors, Jane grows suspicious of the secrets hidden within Thornfield Hall—unaware of the true horrors lurking above her very head.

Logan Dickerson is an archaeologist who feels she'll always live in the shadow of her famous mother. To prove her worth, she jumps the fence at a federally protected archaeological site. Not such a good idea. Now she's on the run from the FBI. Ending up in a small coastal town in Georgia, she discovers that one resident, Gemma Burke, has been found dead, keeled over in her bowl of bouillabaisse. Logan gets all tangled up in a big mystery (and a little bit of romance), but the fun begins once she falls in cahoots with Miss Vivee, a 90-something, five-foot-nothing Voodoo herbalist.

Camille Bell never wanted to raise her husband’s mistake. RJ, the son of Ryan’s most public betrayal, was a constant reminder of everything she lost—the picture-perfect life, the adoring husband, the future she was promised. But instead of casting him aside, she did what no one expected. She made him hers.

There are many paths to power. They all come with a price. Neferura, princess and high priestess of Kemet, knows her duty is to her people. When your mother is the great Pharaoh, it is hard to forget. But Neferura's unique position at court comes with high stakes for her country, especially when she's forced to serve her vile half-brother, a man determined to stop Neferura's potential rise.

I never planned on selling weed to make ends meet while juggling medical school. I certainly didn’t plan on catching feelings for Jordin "Mercy"—a street-smart charmer with a past darker than his flawless caramel skin. He’s got power, money, and enemies, yet somehow, his world feels safer than my own. But loving a man like Jordin isn’t simple. It’s a tightrope walk between devotion and destruction, secrets and survival.

As Black people, we are more likely to face a traumatic experience or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But being Black is about more than the violence that has been perpetrated against us. It also means living a life of dignity and self-worth. We can pull ourselves out of the fire of painful experiences and gain the psychological flexibility needed to thrive, not just survive. Jennifer Shepard Payne presents culturally tailored acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) skills to help you heal from trauma, so you can live a meaningful life that is in tune with your own values.

Diversity Playbook offers a unique opportunity to gain a sneak peek into the world of the other. Michelle R. Loyd-Paige and Michelle D. Williams note that many diversity efforts fail simply because organizations don't share a common language as they talk about diversity. To address this problem, they offer insights within three key areas for Christian organizations.

Francis is found. Beyond Francis, a family is found—in archival material that barely deigned to notice their existence. This is the story of Francis Sistrunk and her children, from enslavement into forced migration across South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. It spans decades before the Civil War and continues into post-emancipation America. A family story full of twists and turns, Finding Francis reclaims and honors those women who played an essential role in the historical survival and triumph of Black people during and after American slavery.

For Black Catholic women and girls, embracing the celibate religious state constituted a radical act of resistance to white supremacy and the sexual terrorism built into chattel slavery and segregation. Williams shows how Black sisters—such as Sister Mary Antona Ebo, who was the only Black member of the inaugural delegation of Catholic sisters to travel to Selma, Alabama, and join the Black voting rights marches of 1965—were pioneering religious leaders, educators, healthcare professionals, desegregation foot soldiers, Black Power activists, and womanist theologians.

You don't have to live in your dream house to make your living spaces feel more like home. Home is meant to be a place to belong. A place to gather and connect. A place of beauty. A place to restore your soul. In Restoration House, author and designer Kennesha Buycks will encourage you to embrace your home and your story so you can create mindful spaces that give life to you, your loved ones, and all who enter.

Born into slavery, Rebecca Crumpler became the first Black female physician in America. Stuntwoman Bessie Coleman was the first Black person in the world to obtain a pilot's license. The work of Harlem Renaissance sculptor Selma Burke can be found on the American dime. The calculations of NASA mathematician Katherine Goble Johnson were critical to the success of US manned spaceflight. These Black women and many more overcame tremendous obstacles and prejudices to make their mark on American history.

It is rare that we have all the training we need before we face a life-changing event in our lives. Each of the women whose stories are told in Over, Under, Around, and Through by Jill Tietjen and Ellie Greenberg, demonstrate the strength, creativity, persistence, and fortitude they used to figure out a way forward.

On March 29, 2020, when her church switched to online services because of coronavirus, Dr. La Verne Ford Wimberly couldn't imagine watching the service in her robe. So, she did what she's always done; she put on a beautiful outfit, matching hat, and accessories and got ready for church. Dr. Wimberly, a self-declared social media junkie, thought "it would be fun to snap a selfie and post it on Facebook with a scripture verse and an inspirational message. I'd let folks know I was ready for worship and encourage them to do the same. This was my way to brighten their spirits."

Stephanie London led a life of comfort and ease in St. Louis before feeling inexplicably drawn back to her father’s roots in the tiny Southern town of Hope Springs. Charlotte Willoughby has lived there all her life and longs to make a new life somewhere else. Stephanie doesn’t know exactly what she’s doing there—or how to occupy her time. And Charlotte doesn’t understand why, despite her overbearing family and reminders of her failed engagement, she’s suddenly led to stay.

A must-have anthology of the leading Black women and femmes shaping today’s food and hospitality landscape—from farm to table and beyond—chronicling their passions and motivations, lessons learned and hard-won wisdom, personal recipes, and more.

France Winddance Twine provides the first book by a sociologist that "lifts the Silicon veil" to provide firsthand accounts of inequality and opportunity in the tech ecosystem. With a sharp eye for detail and compelling testimonials from industry insiders, Twine shows how the technology industry remains rigged against women, and especially Black, Latinx, and Native American women from working class backgrounds. From recruitment and hiring practices, to social and educational segregation, to academic prestige hierarchies, Twine reveals how women are blocked from entering this industry.

Her diamond caught the sun’s rays and refracted light across the room. She’d asked herself again and again: How could she be so blessed? Partner at a prestigious law firm and engaged to the man of her dreams . . . there was no doubt. God had smiled on Kendra Woods. But the moment Kendra is diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, her world collapses. Within days, her fiancé backs out of the wedding and the firm suggests a leave of absence during her treatment. Of all the roles Kendra has played over the years, cancer patient seems the most unwelcome in the world.

Aspiring author Dr. Myaisha Douglas joined the Greensboro Women of Color Writing Group hoping to publish her writing, and never expecting to play amateur sleuth in a real-life murder mystery. When someone murders a friend and member of the group, Myaisha believes she can help the police solve the crime. An avid mystery fan, she relies on the skills she gained from those stories to catch the killer. Though determined to get justice for her friend, the amateur detective soon regrets her involvement when the deceased’s corruption and illegal dealings become public.

In This Is How You Vagina, Dr. Nicole Williams presents listeners with a much-needed education on the history, science, and attitudes of the most fascinating and misunderstood part of the female anatomy: the vagina. She covers valuable information about sexual function, childbirth, and physiology and provides answers to her patients' (and probably your) most asked questions. She matter-of-factly dispels the most common myths and misinformation concerning female genitalia. You will learn what's normal and what's not, including that, yes, yours is most certainly normal too.