Positively Big Mama

Positively, Big Mama is a memoir packed with pain, suffering, guilt, and shame, written from the delicate perspective of self-pity and offbeat humor. The words are filled with crazy fear, eccentric parents, raging neurosis, three husbands, three forgotten children, hypochondria, agoraphobia, and the one constant: a predictable male animal. The journey chronicles a descent into a deep abyss that proves finite allowing Positively, Big Mama to become an inspirational piece, whose only omniscient character is God Himself. Not your typical coming of age piece, Big Mamas transition occurs at midlife and beyond. Positively, Big Mama captures the interest and hearts of both sexes. Filled with secrets, regrets, and ill-fated choices, Big Mamas quest is one of forgiveness and redemption. The true story is written from the perspective of a child, adolescent, and immature adult. Maturity does not rear its head in the storyline until Big Mamas hair begins to turn silver. Upon a marketing analysis, Positively, Big Mama has a rebound effect on a small core of men. The claim is supported by the words of Mae West, Women with pasts interest men because they hope history will repeat itself." Oscar Wilde adds to Wests observation with his satirical statement, I like men who have no future and women who have a past. With the Greater New Orleans area and its regional favorites as a backdrop to the story, the setting and content of Positively, Big Mama has a wide, local and national appeal.

You ain't nothing but a "Hound Dog" ... with these words shouted into the microphone she will always be remembered: Big Mama Thornton. Who is this woman who sang the megahit "Hound Dog" before Elvis Presley and who wrote "Ball & Chain," the song that catapulted Janis Joplin to sudden fame? The story begins with her first musical attempts in the Hot Harlem Revue as a girl of 14. Then the book follows her journey into the Mecca of Texas Blues, Houston, where Big Mama Thornton met Johnny Otis, with whom she recorded her greatest success--"Hound Dog." With the slowdown of the blues in the early sixties this book follows Big Mama Thornton's way to California, discusses her struggle to survive and celebrates her impressive musical comeback in the course of the blues revival and the hippie movement. With the end of the sixties, facing a declining interest in the old school blues, the book shows how Big Mama Thornton found her niche in clubs and festivals in the U.S. and Europe. The book then follows Big Mama Thornton through the seventies and eighties until her untimely death.

Big mamas have been the nuclei of Black families for centuries. They have always represented strength and wisdom. Despite the strength and wisdom that radiates from big mamas and the Black community, time has revealed that something has fallen between the cracks: mental health. This book challenges the stigma of Mental Health in the Black community. It also provides insight for parents and caregivers of Black teens who seek assistance, insight, and encouragement to pursue services that they believe their teen(s) may need. An A-Z guide, this book is sure to help parents and caregivers better understand mental health disorders and the treatment surrounding them.

In this vibrant, thought-provoking book, Kelley, "the preeminant historian of black popular culture writing today" (Cornel West) shows how the multicolored urban working class is the solution to the ills of American cities. He undermines widespread misunderstandings of black culture and shows how they have contributed to the failure of social policy to save our cities.

Big Mama The World is a Playground - Enjoy it! "A harmonious life is a balance of respect for oneself and others, family involvement, loyal and wholesome friends, spirituality, a healthy social life, and participation in the community in which one chooses to live." -Gwendolyn Jevita Cheatham, Ph.D. This book is a compilation of the author's original quotes, her reflections on life, and her poetry. The literary content, herein, encompasses a variety of sentiments--from "Big Mama" offering advice to poetry that touches one's heart. The author shares a plethora of incredible experiences from her trips at home and abroad. Her down to earth manner provides a very riveting account of a world teeming with a diverse group of people who see the world as a challenging place to live, and as a "Wonderland." In this book, the author "tells it like it is, not like it ain't."