In the tenuous world of Doris Love, the protagonist in Breaking the Cycles of Pain: Soul Secrets-the first book in an autobiographical trilogy-is thrown out of the house by her strict minister father. Immediately, she is rescued by a 'Black knight in shining armor'-the classic 'hero'. In the second book of the trilogy, The Journey Let Us Cheer the Weary Traveler, Doris begins her voyage in sunny California. Mired in a world of powerlessness and shame, Doris tucks away her anger and pain about incest, racism, and male domination in a young 'wife 's failing marriage. The separation ignites her rage and revenge. Fortunately for Doris and her daughter Kabari, her early decision to understand life was more pressing than the need for retaliation. This recognition initiates her on a circuitous search for meaning. At a junior college, Doris meets a professor, Ms. Miller, who becomes her mentor and later, her therapist and her first recognized 'shehero'. Ms. Miller symbolizes the classic figure of a "fairy godmother" who donates her time, advice, and money ("magic") to help Doris negotiate the educational system and her quixotic search for her own authenticity. Doris enrolls in a university and the issues of identity, exile and being 'Black in a white world' continues. The seeker's cautionary tale of another marriage for convenience and returning to a theology that wearies rather than liberates lead to many experiences and lessons. Eventually, an awareness surfaces of knowing she must be herself and she doesn't need others to save her. Who, she is, cannot be lost. Doris's awakened voice and her sassy, rebellious nature empowered her for the future.As the journey evolves, child abuse, women's issues and social justices are themes that continued to characterize Doris's exploration of her adult life as she re-rights her life and she writes the third book of her trilogy, The Books of Love Healing the Secret.
