APEX REVIEWS GIVES MAKING MARY 5 STARS!!!!!
More Reviews
From: www.afrikanhistory.org
Date: Aug 13, 2008 2:22 PM
Afrikan American History Channel’s words:
http://www.myspace.com/africanamericanhistorytv
I find your book (Making Mary by Dedra Muhammad) to be as well written as Barack Obama's "Dream of my Father," except it is more intriguing and contains a lot more suspense.
I would say definitely that Making Mary is a "master piece," and a must read. It is a love story, history, true story and a black experience. There are so many themes in this book that I can relate to. Very well written and filled with turns and twists that you would never imagine.
Sheldon Barnes
Review #2
From: Greene, Erin
Dedra -
ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU DID THAT!!!!!!!!!!
This is Erin - Dawn's friend from the cruise - and I promised to email you when I got to chapter 5 to let you know what i thought of the book.
Dedra your book is GREAT! I love it. I told you I love a good story that will keep me captivated and guessing. You told me the book had it and you never lied. I absolutely love the book.
I am at work now but I have folded over pages where I read brilliant sentences that made me read them twice sometimes three times. Your ability to write is definitley a gift and I pray that it takes you higher than you ever imagined. When I finish the book, I am going to email you back and refer to some of the play on words that just has me in awe of you!
I don't know what chapter I am in, but I am at the part where Henry found Vivian on Lee's front porch. He bought her back to his cabin and he is pressuring her to stay and be with him.....WOW....this part is blowing me away plus I want to fight Lee right now! Dedra this book is soooo good. I am telling any and everybody about this book.
I hope you and your family are doing great! You will definitely hear from me soon..........
Stay Blessed -
Erin J. Greene
Review #3:
I quickly became 100% hooked on Sister Dedra Muhammad outstanding novel. Carol, Vivian Minnie,Lee, Henry, Eli --- it really seems like I've met them all on the road we call life. As a writer Sister Muhammad is much more than good she's great. I strongly admire like the way that she weaves precious gems of wisdom in the midst of passion and drama. She is teaching a superior message almost below the threshold of conscious perception . Just take a brief look at her primary characters : Growing up in the south Lee received positive feedback for his negative lifestyle . Don't hate him, rise above emotion and try to understand him. His problem is that he doesn't know himself. Blinded by falsehoods, lies and a poor self-image. Many of us have been there in one degree or another.
Read this book. Meet these characters. It is impossible to be intellectually indifferent with knowledge of that caliber around . Though the pen of Dedra Muhammad you will explore your own soul.
------Herbert Sulaiman Shabazz
In a message from an APEX REVIEW constituent, Sister Genevieve wrote:
"...Well, you know, Dedra, some surprises are best treated like Christmas presents: you'd rather wait until you see the looks on their faces once they open them for themselves...
Making Mary is the compelling story of the life and legacy of Vivian
Johnson, a troubled soul trapped in an even more troubling time in American
history. Based on a true story, the narrative is centered on Vivian's unending
relationship drama with Lee Hiram, her less-than-apt suitor, the microcosm of
which Muhammad uses to display for the reader the depths of contemporary
relationships within a greater overall context.
Set mostly during the transition between the Civil War and the Great
Depression, Making Mary chronicles the daily travails of a nation – and its people
– in flux. Still haunted by the ever-present specter of racism, the Johnson family
soon succumbs to the lure of the Great Migration, joining the millions of other
poor Black families seeking to escape the oppressive clutches of the South.
Ultimately settling in Michigan, the Johnsons soon discover that no amount of
travel will ever distance them from the generational curses inherently borne within
each of them, manifesting themselves in myriad ways from alcoholism to
promiscuity to even murder.
The particular hardship of Vivian's life stands out most in Muhammad's tale.
With Lee serving as her perpetual bete noire, Vivian's constant conflict – both
internal and external – pulls at the reader in many familiar ways. As the purity of
her soul slowly deteriorates with each new heartbreak, the real tragedy comes not
at watching her sudden end, but rather at having to witness her spirit die bit by
agonizing bit.
Making Mary is a difficult read, if only for the fact that in it Muhammad
presents remarkably accurate pills of truth that often prove difficult to swallow.
Taking on everything from the Willie Lynch syndrome to religious zealotry to
lasting misconceptions regarding the true intentions of Abraham Lincoln, Making
Mary reads like a treatise on American psychology. Her points are cogent, her
logic is flawless, and most impressive is the seamless way she applies her
observations on her subjects within the real framework of their everyday lives.
For such an intelligent, well-crafted, and much needed read, Dedra
Muhammad deserves to be celebrated for both her bravery in crafting such a
powerful story and her selflessness in sharing it with the masses. Highly
recommended!
Subject: HELLO!!!!!!
To: admin@makingmary.com
Date: Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 12:13 PM
Being in the state of triple darkness that our people were in at that point in our history it would have been almost impossible for him to act out any role other than the role afforded as an extension of plantation life- a baby making, love her and leave her type of man. His insecurities are seen anytime he perceives a chance that he might lose the one reality that he loves---Vivian.
Vivian and Minnie may be too sides of the same coin. Both are defensively deceptive due to their exposure to Carol's relationships with men (not including Eli, who is the best embodiment of true manhood).The difference is that Minnie deceives herself while Vivian deceives others. This may have helped lead to Henry's dilemma of loving Minnie but feeling in love with Vivian. Two sides to the same coin. 
APEX 5 Star Review
Making Mary
Dedra Muhammad
ISBN: 0976634600
Rising South Publication
Reviewed By Mary Hallows
Of course, at the risk of ruining the surprise: how does a 5-star review sound to you...?
Congratulations! I've forwarded the info to you, so you should be receiving it soon. Thanks again for all your great support, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Have a great day,
Genevieve
P.S. - All of us here love your book so much, we think you'd be a great guest on Voices & Vibes, the new Internet radio show hosted by Marcus Harris, Founder & CEO of our parent company, Urban Echoes Entertainment. Would you like to appear on the show? If so, I'll let Marcus know (who's also read your book, by the way, and LOVED it), and we can get you booked for an appearance. Thanks again."