From the Soul:  Stories of Great Black Parents and the Lives They Gave Us by Phyllis Y. Harris will give parents an insight into how their children think of them as people, adults and parents.

The stories in this book are as diverse as the lives we live.  By that, I mean they are stories of children who grew up dirt poor, middle class and upper class.  Even though, I could see a little bit of my husband and me as parents and my daughters as children in each and every one.

The first story in this book discusses the loss of a mother by a little girl.  The little girl relates the last day she saw her mother alive.  In that passage, the little girl stated that she loved the smell of her mother she smelled like her favorite foods.  My daughters are always smelling me and saying how good I smell.  I always thought this was weird, but after reading this book, I can understand how comforting that could be to a child.

The second story discusses a son's admiration of his father.  It may seem strange to some, but in this story, I noticed similarities of me to his mother.  The son stated that his mother took her job as a parent seriously.  I am the parent that makes sure the house is clean, food is on the table, clothes are washed, homework is completed etc.  Because of all this, I am unable to play with my daughters as much as they and I would like.  My husband, on the other hand, is the fun parent because he gets to watch movies, play basketball, etc. Just as this boy's father was.  The boy appreciated what both his parents gave him, as I am confident that my daughters appreciate my husband and me.

I highly recommend this book to every parent, not just black parents.  The stories will give us all a great understanding of parents and children relationships.

The Nubian Circle Book Club rating for From the Soul:  Stories of Great Black Parents and the Lives They Gave Us is 5 out of 5 stars.  We welcome your comments and thoughts about this book review.  Please e-mail us at this address: NubianCircleClub@aol.com.