Julie Kibler

KIRKUS REVIEWFrom East Texas to Cincinnati, from present-day racism to 1930s segregation, Isabelle and Dorrie travel together, a most unlikely pair of companions, and their stories unfold.After having been Isabelle?s hairdresser for a decade, Dorrie thinks she knows Isabelle pretty well, even though Isabelle is a 90-something white woman and she is a 30-something black woman and even though Isabelle grew up privileged and she has struggled to begin her own shop. Over time, the women have bonded over shared stories, stories about Dorrie?s divorce and Isabelle?s favorite soap operas. And over time, they have become friends. Yet, when Isabelle asks Dorrie to drive her cross-country to a funeral, Dorrie is taken aback. It?s easy enough to ask her mother to care for her children, but telling Teague, her new boyfriend, is another matter. Their relationship is still new, still tentative, and Dorrie has been burned by men too often. Once on the road, Isabelle?s most secret story comes out. Growing up in a town that persecuted blacks who dared to stay after sunset, and under the thumb of a mother watching her daughter?s every movement, Isabelle was the last young woman the people of Shalerville, Ky., might have expected to fall in love with a black man. The repercussions of their love shattered their lives, their families, their futures. Yet, their story isn't finished, and Dorrie wonders what lingers and whose funeral they are headed toward. As she puts the puzzle of Isabelle together, Dorrie has worries of her own. Can she trust Teague? Why have her son and his girlfriend stopped planning for the prom? Kibler?s unsentimental eye makes the problems faced unflinchingly by these women ring true.Love and family defy the expected in this engaging tale.… (mais)

I’ve had this novel on my TBR for awhile and I am so thankful I finally had the opportunity to sit down and read it. It is such a sad, depressing, yet endearing and uplifting tale that is based on a true story, and happened a few short miles from where I grew up, making this read all the more impactful.

The Berachah Industrial Home was a real place in Arlington, Texas in the 1930’s that existed to help women who where down on their luck, lending a helping hand to those that found themselves pregnant out of wedlock, or in a life of prostitution, drug addiction, and other issues. It was a religious outreach that focused on second chances, and it is one that changed the lives of many women who walked through its doors. For its time this was revolutionary, but was a much-needed outreach that I found fascinating existed.

Home for Erring and Outcast Girls is a dual timeline that focuses on some of the women at The Berachah, while the future is focused on two women that are researching the history of The Berachah. As to be expected, there are twists in each timeline, along with adult subjects of all kinds that some could find triggering. There is nothing graphically depicted, but was handled in a tasteful and respectful manner, which helped me not be as triggered.

The writing is so subversive that once I picked it up I seriously could not put this novel down, and read it in mere hours. I found myself absorbed in this world, emotionally attached to these women, and craved to see the outcome, whatever that may be. After I was finished I did some research and found out that the Berachah cemetery is still in Arlington near the University of Texas in Arlington which is mere minutes from where my own grandparents are buried, so the next time I go to visit their graves I plan on going by Berachah Home Cemetery and paying my respects to those buried there.

This was n incredibly powerful read that will stick with me for a long time. It has imprinted on my heart, reminding me that all women have a fight, have a story, and are so much stronger together.

*I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I received from the publisher through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own.… (mais)