Making Mary by Dedra Muhammad

In one book, you will get: Knowledge of perpetrator science
Historical literature
Support for rape victims
Discussions of women issues
Characteristics of rapists
A most compelling love story
Abuse prevention ideas
Factual information about important domestic issues, such as rape, domestic violence, etc.
Written in novel format
The list goes on!

According to the Center for Disease Control (2002), one-third of all female homicide victims in America are killed by husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends or ex-boyfriends. Family violence costs the nation from $5 to $10 billion annually in medical expenses, police and court costs, shelters and foster care, sick leave, absenteeism, and non-productivity. There is hardly an individual who does not know of someone who has suffered some form of abuse in an intimate relationship. This is why the historical novel, Making Mary, based on a true story, is so timely, vital, and recommended in communities across the world. There is a formula for social and interpersonal healing intertwined within every page as each reader can easily identify aspects of the self in even the most ruthless characters.
Making Mary not only offers education in perpetrator science, abuse victim psyche, rape victim trauma, and extended family shaping and involvement, each character is remarkably developed and the author’s deft command of dialogue allows the reader excellent opportunities to walk step in step from the dank forests of Escambia County and up into view of the perceived blazing yellow unfriendly sun of Detroit, Michigan.
And on the path, the reader is afforded a unique glimpse into the impact of the beginning of the interstate highways, the railway contributions, logging, and how the fishing industry evolved in America’s second oldest city; the effects of Rosewood, Florida, Tulsa Oklahoma; the climate during slavery’s aftermath, the Great Depression shock, the role of women in the pre-women’s liberation movement, and the presence of Blacks in northern auto factories during the 20’s; the soothing sounds of Duke Ellington and blind Blake, the influence of the Detroit urban league, and dozens of other historical landmarks which facilitated the thinking, productivity, and interpersonal relationship, especially pertaining to the Black family.
Moreover, Making Mary is the most compelling love story of all times. From the most prudent scientists to the mathematicians and over to the stout religious missionaries—they all will find themselves wooed by the pristine softness of Making Mary’s heroine and her stately beau. Gone with the Wind, Beauty and the Beast, Tar Baby, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre lovers alike will marvel at the plights of Vivian Johnson, the breathtaking perpetual Black princess of a virgin people who had the aptitude to give birth to Mary, yet she didn’t even know she was divine.
Author Dedra Muhammad grew up in Pontiac, Michigan. My mother showcased a library of over 2,000 books throughout our house. I loved reading the Mandingo series and Donald Goines. My favorites are Song of Solomon and Native Son. I studied the brilliance of Toni Morrison and Richard Wright and was quite pleased one year when I realized that Making Mary could sit proudly between those two on any shelf and each book on the row would be in great company. Everyone is talking about Making Mary because the great discovery is that she is more than a splendid historical piece...she is phenomenal. She is more than spiritual...she represents the epitomi of spirit and divinity.  Aside from being the most compelling love story ever told, she is based on a true story.  This historical literature piece is also a romance novel which deals with social issues, women issues...and it is a profound tool for students of sociology, urban studies, and cultural psychology.  Social issues are dealt with such as in dysfunctional relationships and the impact of date or familial rape on the victim as well as the perpetrator.  Domestic violence is addressed in a way that can actually put an end to domestic violence, in some cases.  This is because the reader is availed the opportunity to understand like never before the thought processes and emotions which causes these heartwrenching dilemmas in relationships.  
Making Mary deals with real life issues...and these issues are not placated for the sake of pacifying individuals, although all people are embraced and many cultures are explored.

Making Mary is historical literature, featuring an African American family. She is profoundly written.  From chapter to chapter she fulfills the quest and thirst for all realms spirituality.The setting is early 1900's to right after the Great Depression.  Which, the Great Depression is merely a back drop behind the Black romance and social issues of the Raison and Johnson families. Guised as a romance novel and based on a true story, she tells the tear-jerking and compassionate love story of a young, innocent girl who falls victim to abuse, and knows not a way out of her cycle of confusion.  Making Mary thoroughly covers women issues without alienating the man, but rather she embraces men and women despite the funk that may permeate them.

Who is Mary and how does one make her over again? And how dare we mention Mary in a sense of Black history?  These questions are not rhetorical; the answers to them signify something more penetrating than "deep" and more saturating than enriching. It would behoove us to determine that we have very few Mary's in the world today.  The cause of this stems from our society's low sense of morality and compounding social issues that retard the development and growth of the people within society---in particularly those belonging to certain sub-cultures who are (not supposed to be) products of the society.
We must understand why the masses don't even want a Mary proto-type!
Is this African American literature for women, and not other ethnicities and men? Emphatically NO.
Making Mary is being weighed in by men and women alike and the votes show that more men than ever are seeking answers to what their souls yearn for in the pages of Making Mary.
Black history is interwoven and detailed in many instances. Some of the major thinkers and doers in Black history are mentioned, and many of the historical events are included in an outstanding layout--giving the reader the most vivid vicarious experience of the times. 

This historical literature mentions Duke Ellington, Rosewood, Florida, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Harriet Tubman and other Black freedom fighters like Nat Turner and Callie House, the Great Depression, Haitian revolutionaries, the Ku-Klux-Klan, Detroit in the 20's, the emergence of the Urban League, Escambia County and the Pensacola Bay, the impact of interstate highways, the railway, and the first auto manufacturers, and many, many more historical landmarks.

African American literature is used here as a helping mechanism for all ethnicities of troubled couples and individuals. She is recommended for students of Black History, sociology, urban studies, psychology, social work, theology, American Literature...to name a few.  Making Mary is a page-turner because she IS (more than) a ROMANCE NOVEL.  But you know what?  She is so inclusive and comprehensive, she really cannot be classified as this or that.  The fact that the story is about Black people and encompasses Black History gives the illusion to the layman that it is only for Black people.  This is so un-true. It's just that African-American relationships are used to re-define cultural psychology.  The emotional abuse present in the story is not simply there to give a twist to the love story--Making Mary is based on true accounts and domestic violence, rape, and emotional abuse were all present in the shaping ingredients of a people.
Black romance has never been told in such a bitter-sweet fashion, allowing the reader the opportunity to laugh at the contents of one page and cry on the flip side.  Please read "The North Star" and tell me if Making Mary doesn't fulfill the description of a Black romance novel; one of the greatest works in African American literature and historical literature; she totally covers women issues as they relate to sociology and relationships, etc.! She is a serious tool for rape victims and even potential victims. The author contends that when Making Mary is read and understood, potential rape victims will be guided away from the path that could lead them into vulnerable situations. This does not include stranger/violent rape circumstances...this has more to do with familial and friend rape cases, where the victim finds him or herself sucked into a statuatory rape or relative rape situation because of faulty trust issues, and sheer carelessness. On this site, an excerpt of a climaxing rape situation can be read. This excerpt is from Chapter Fifteen, though, and it is also extremely important to read what lead up to Floyd's rape of Vivian. Click the above link for "He raped me" for more information. Attention Black authors:

Dear Black authors,
I appeal to you. We have a perspective to offer to the world about the violence that takes place in relationships and in families. Our voices must be heard to contribute in the struggle against domestic violence, rape, and emotional abuse. We have so many black authors who are poets. Please submit your art to this site and together, we can work to provide domestic education via art and culture. Remember, battered women raise children. How can a loving and nurturing environment be provided for future generations if the primary care-givers are being bashed in the head and slapped around by angry drunks who are the significant others, husbands, and gaurdians of their wives? Violence begets violence---notwithstanding, any woman who abuses her family members and/or husband should not be excused because of her gender. Here again, Black authors, please share your thoughts--and even if you are not a published author, and even if you are not a Black author, your thoughts are welcome.