Fiction
Date Published: May 2013
Yvette is a forty-one year old woman struggling to cope with losing both parents during her twenties—one to terminal disease and the other to life’s complications. Over the years, she learned to repress the pain of watching her mother die and the resentment of having her father casually walk out of her life. Now as she packs her bags to return to her Georgia hometown and the house where final goodbyes were never spoken, a growing sense of uneasiness intensifies.
Vera is the kind-hearted stepsister Yvette never imagined nor wanted. She was an innocent teenager in search of answers when Yvette’s father, the Pastor, entered her life. Although broken from the loss of his beloved wife and daughters, he gave Vera the love and affection she so desperately needed. However, a childhood secret threatens to compromise everything Vera holds dear.
When the Pastor’s health takes a turn for the worse, both daughters must decide if they have the strength and courage to no longer be confined to burdens of the past. Will Yvette overcome feelings of abandonment and forgive her father before it’s too late? Does Vera’s childhood secret hold the key to mending this family’s broken relationship?
Yesterday Mourning is a heartfelt and poignant novella about two women learning invaluable lessons of forgiveness, love, loss and ultimately—peace. It is an impressive debut from an author with an authentic voice and a love for storytelling.
YESTERDAY MOURNING EXCERPT
I didn’t know what to say.
Two
years had passed since I last laid eyes on him, and I had
no clue what would be the first or final words spoken. Maybe I'd ask for an
in-depth explanation as to why he didn’t try harder to salvage the relationship
we built—the love we shared.
While
I wanted to hear his answers, my heart recognized that simple words wouldn’t
make our truth any less real. Our perspectives had changed because our lives
had changed. Our interactions had transformed into something entirely different
than the possibilities we would have imagined a few years ago.
A
part of me wanted to run away in hopes of avoiding both him and the complexity
of this moment—a moment built on the promise of closure. However, running away
stopped being an option a long time ago, and as such, I got the privilege of
sitting on a concrete step under an August Georgia sun waiting for my father to
turn the corner into our cul-de-sac. I got to wonder whether he would try to
hug me or engage in small talk—or do the unexpected and admit fault for the
current state of our situation.
I
wish things had been different. I wish he had made a different choice—one that
involved me, or at least considered me. I replayed our conversations often,
wondering whether I was too sensitive or whether he really was as heartless and
selfish as I perceived him to be.
We
were both mourning a loss—a wife, a mother. He yearned to feel her touch just
as I longed to see her smile. Her voice had coached us both through the
funeral, the holidays, and the random moments such as being in the grocery
store and seeing a grapefruit and remembering how much she loved them. Both of
us had changed hospital bed sheets, paged nurses, and authorized procedures
while feeling her slip away from our hopeful grasps. The sting of tears on
wishful cheeks was no less painful for either of us. Our tears just fell in two
different states and for two very different reasons. The reasons were what
hindered me from knowing what I should say to him.
Yvette is a forty-one year old woman struggling to cope with losing both parents during her twenties—one to terminal disease and the other to life’s complications. Over the years, she learned to repress the pain of watching her mother die and the resentment of having her father casually walk out of her life. Now as she packs her bags to return to her Georgia hometown and the house where final goodbyes were never spoken, a growing sense of uneasiness intensifies.
Vera is the kind-hearted stepsister Yvette never imagined nor wanted. She was an innocent teenager in search of answers when Yvette’s father, the Pastor, entered her life. Although broken from the loss of his beloved wife and daughters, he gave Vera the love and affection she so desperately needed. However, a childhood secret threatens to compromise everything Vera holds dear.
When the Pastor’s health takes a turn for the worse, both daughters must decide if they have the strength and courage to no longer be confined to burdens of the past. Will Yvette overcome feelings of abandonment and forgive her father before it’s too late? Does Vera’s childhood secret hold the key to mending this family’s broken relationship?
Yesterday Mourning is a heartfelt and poignant novella about two women learning invaluable lessons of forgiveness, love, loss and ultimately—peace. It is an impressive debut from an author with an authentic voice and a love for storytelling.
YESTERDAY MOURNING EXCERPT
I didn’t know what to say.
Two
years had passed since I last laid eyes on him, and I had
no clue what would be the first or final words spoken. Maybe I'd ask for an
in-depth explanation as to why he didn’t try harder to salvage the relationship
we built—the love we shared.
While
I wanted to hear his answers, my heart recognized that simple words wouldn’t
make our truth any less real. Our perspectives had changed because our lives
had changed. Our interactions had transformed into something entirely different
than the possibilities we would have imagined a few years ago.
A
part of me wanted to run away in hopes of avoiding both him and the complexity
of this moment—a moment built on the promise of closure. However, running away
stopped being an option a long time ago, and as such, I got the privilege of
sitting on a concrete step under an August Georgia sun waiting for my father to
turn the corner into our cul-de-sac. I got to wonder whether he would try to
hug me or engage in small talk—or do the unexpected and admit fault for the
current state of our situation.
I
wish things had been different. I wish he had made a different choice—one that
involved me, or at least considered me. I replayed our conversations often,
wondering whether I was too sensitive or whether he really was as heartless and
selfish as I perceived him to be.
We
were both mourning a loss—a wife, a mother. He yearned to feel her touch just
as I longed to see her smile. Her voice had coached us both through the
funeral, the holidays, and the random moments such as being in the grocery
store and seeing a grapefruit and remembering how much she loved them. Both of
us had changed hospital bed sheets, paged nurses, and authorized procedures
while feeling her slip away from our hopeful grasps. The sting of tears on
wishful cheeks was no less painful for either of us. Our tears just fell in two
different states and for two very different reasons. The reasons were what
hindered me from knowing what I should say to him.
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Renita Bryant, a native of Fort Valley, Georgia, had visions of being a writer from an early age. "There's something magical about using words on a page to emotionally propel someone into another time and place."
Since obtaining her BS & MBA, Renita has worked for some of the world's largest companies on many of their most recognizable household brands. Although she finds the work rewarding, her passion for writing pushed her to complete and publish her first novella, Yesterday Mourning, in May 2013.
Renita currently resides in Ohio and stays actively involved in social media with her blog, Renita’s Mynd Matters, Twitter (@Mynd_Matters), Facebook (YesterdayMourningBook), and Goodreads pages! She's currently working on multiple projects including book #2 and a collection of poetry.
Website/Blog: www.renitabryant.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YesterdayMourningBook?ref=hl
Twitter: @Mynd_Matters
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YesterdayMourningBook?ref=hl
BUY LINKS
Amazon (eBook & Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/Yesterday-Mourning-Renita-Bryant-ebook/dp/B00CNTJIJA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Barnes and Noble (eBook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/yesterday-mourning-renita-bryant/1115292212?ean=2940044520417
Smashwords (eBook): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/313198
Barnes and Noble (eBook): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/yesterday-mourning-renita-bryant/1115292212?ean=2940044520417
Smashwords (eBook): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/313198
That really unique looking cover.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading about the lessons learned.
ReplyDeleteThe cover intrigues me.
ReplyDeleterounder9834 @yahoo.com