FAMILY TIES AND SEXUAL LIES:

S. STEPHENS'

"AM I MY SISTER'S KEEPER?"

" My name is Alicia Banks...and I am a workaholic." I confess. I work too much and too hard. It costs me my health and relationships...perpetually. It's 2006. I am currently on my first vacation since 1984. And, still I toil...Please pray for me. I am a work in progress. The Goddess has not finished with me until I learn to rest and relax...

I have taken some time to catch up on some pleasure reading. I keep very long lists of books that I will read as soon as my insane professional schedules permit. I love books. I read voraciously. Since I was a small child I have read five to seven books in an average week. I love reading. The most painful part of my extensive graduate studies has been restricting myself to eons of academic literature.

Finally, I am able to read some books from my wish lists. I rarely ever read nonfiction. My compulsive reading schedule simply just does not allow time or room for anything more than my beloved nonfiction. I generally find truth infinitely stranger and vastly more interesting than fiction. Yet, on rare occasions I do make exceptions to this reading rule.

Usually, I reserve my fictional excursions for specific and uniquely gifted authors like J. California Cooper, Toni Morrison, and Alice Walker. Their fiction is filled with so much raw and rebel truth that it reads with the same relevance and wisdom as my nonfictional selections. I must now add a new author to that stellar list of fictional magicians. She is S. Stephens.

Stephens shares her real life with her partner and her daughter. I am so happy that she has shared the fictional lives of some lovable lesbian sistas with us. Her new novel is entitled "Am I My Sister's Keeper" . It is a beautiful story about self-love, family bonds, heartache, and homosexuality. Stephens has penned a classic and haunting tale about choosing sanity over silence, honesty over hiding, and passion over pacification.

As homosexuals, we do not choose our sexuality. But, we do choose to accept or deny our sexuality. We choose to live with dignity or shame. We choose to live openly or clandestinely. We choose defiance or defeat. We choose discretion or deceit.

Gaybashers, especially sexually repressed pseudo-christian ones, reduce homosexuals to one dimensional sexual creatures. They curiously obsess over gay sex as they deny and ignore gay love. "Am I My Sister's Keeper" seduces us with love rather than sex. It examines passions of the heart, mind, and soul without exploiting or objectifying the body. These qualities make this book a uniquely classy and powerful read.

Stephens writes with the religious fervor of a true Christian, the chocolate flava of a true afrocentric, the sensuality of a diva, and the rebel spirit of an emotional warrior. Her lesbian characters are sexy femmes who are admirable, intellectual, and realistic. This is a sensually hot and hypnotic read.

Everything in life is political. Sexuality included. Being homosexual is not a lifestyle. Golfing is a lifestyle. Homosexuality is a life. The sisters inside the pages of "Am I My Sister's Keeper" live their lives with integrity. They are resilient in the face of rabid hatred even as it emanates from the hearts of those they revere and adore. They are noble as they make courageous and ethical choices. They learn to love themselves unconditionally, as Stephens masterfully woos readers to do the same.

I also love the cover of this book. It features beautiful ebony skinned African-Americans. Such black beauty is so rare on any book cover. Like most blacks, most black gays are colorists. Unfortunately, black gays are not immune to white supremacy.

You must read this book today. It is a rich and realistic tale of family ties, sibling rivalries, role models, blood betrayal, DL sistas, holy hatred, religious bigotry, spiritual turmoil, and mental triumph. This is the tale of a lesbian soul's liberation. Even it's unpredictable conclusion is tender and realistic. Enjoy this tantalizing journey ASAP.

Self love is the greatest love of all. And, no one, heterosexual or homosexual, can ever truly love another person until they have learned to love themselves. Read about a love supreme in the pages of "Am I My Sister's Keeper" today.

Here are a few select quotes from this superb love story:

I know I'm letting somebody down by not standing up for who I am.

Only thing wrong in God's eye child is not believing in his existence.

I know that the ultimate sin is living a lie.

The more you lie to yourself, the more lives you will destroy.

We have to get out and become visible.

I know what sex was like with guys, and even though I had my share of encounters, it couldn't begin to compare to what I'd experienced with women.

We always knew where and when to touch because we were the same person.

I was feeling a ton of guilt, knowing my arousal came with the thought of a woman and not my man.

Yeah, the Bible teaches you to throw your kid out and have nothing to do with her because she's a lesbian. What chapter is that again?

I know God created me...I don't understand how people can compare my life to child molesters, murderers, and other monsters we've created. Who have I harmed?

I was simply not brave enough to take on the world as a lesbian.

The few kids that did come out were tortured beyond belief.

I felt I'd betrayed my own mind, body, and soul.

..I swear everyone knew what I'd been trying to hide all my life.

I didn't remember deciding to be a lesbian, so how could I decide not to be?

I didn't choose to be a lesbian. But I did choose to live a lie, and the man who probably loved me as much as you do got hurt.

I knew [Dad] was fighting ignorance and fear, the other two qualities he and Mom gave me.

I couldn't fight what was inside of me, but I hadn't learn to live with it either.

How can you expect us to accept something you're ashamed of?

I saw you despise the sister I love so much, so I began to despise her too.

I need to find the courage to love me just the way I am.

I missed being the only person I knew how to be.

Our parents and grandparents wanted so much to be accepted and treated equally during the Movement. Now they've forgotten what that felt like as they kick us [homosexuals] to the curb.

We [homosexuals] are also part of the village.

With no excuses, you live life to the fullest. If we keep knocking on the door, change will come. But if we keep hiding, we'll continue to be a figment in this world's imagination.

As long as we hide then they can keep hiding behind the Bible and not recognize our life.

We forgot our children were a gift from you, Lord, and our job was to love them unconditionally and see them along on their life.


2006 - ALICIA BANKS


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