The Two Lives of Sara by Catherine Adel West – Review, Thoughts, Quotes
‘Don’t expect people to praise you. Have enough confidence in what you do so you never need anyone else to make you feel like a whole person.’
Sara, The Two Lives of Sara by Catherine Adel West
Sara King arrives in Memphis, TN with no money, but a whole lot of secrets and a life growing inside of her. Sara unwillingly finds a family working with Mama Sugar in what seems one of the most popular boarding houses.
Her brokenness means I’m not alone in my brokenness.
The Two Lives of Sara by Catherine Adel West
❗️Spoilers for both Saving Ruby King and The Two Lives of Sara❗️
It didn’t make sense that Lebanon came from this upbringing at first, but then the ending made me understand so much and led me to the potential ways that could have affected Lebanon’s ways.
I love Catherine Adel West’s writing. She makes me interact with her characters in a world that I’ve never known – Memphis, TN in the 60s. With West’s writing, I’m not just reading a story. I feel as though I’m sitting in the boarding house and eating the breakfast that Mama Sugar has put on the table.
Amos looks good in her eyes because she needs him to. Because if he’s anything else, if he’s back to gambling and drinking, then how would she explain to herself that despite doing all she could, her son is still…broken? Something that came from you can’t be made whole and despite doing everything you know to do; you may be the very reason he faltered in the first place. Who wants to live with that? So, you don’t think about your faults. You don’t think about his. You live in a space where everything can be find if you convince yourself it is.
The Two Lives of Sara by Catherine Adel West
This is a very interesting quote, something that I’ve thought of a lot while mentally prepping myself for having children. But it’s also brutally honest, still more straightforward than some fictional narrators give in other books. Which is another thing I love about West’s writing – her characters are unapologetically themselves.
I loved all of the classic book recommendations and I was so surprised that Will was so young reading so much (it was lovely!). I just assumed he was older from the amount of reading that he did and the love of reading that he had. It was so impressive, because I somewhat liked reading when I was younger, but I definitely don’t remember reading anything heavy. But then again, my childhood was less difficult than Will’s.
‘James Baldwin doesn’t have to speak for everybody, just himself.’
Sara, The Two Lives of Sara by Catherine Adel West
I love love and I love loving love
Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter
There was so much love for Sara and Lebanon in Memphis, I even felt the love from everyone in this. And I don’t get very emotional with books, so when I feel things along with characters, that’s a special book to me. I found the ending so unfortunate that Sara was unable to use all of that love and help from those around her in Memphis.
Mama Sugar is pulling her card, the one all black women over a certain number of years seem to possess. This implicit understanding that the weight of them in your lives and all the sacrifices they made, not only on your behalf but on the behalf of others, outweigh your wants and desires. And you are not to refuse them when they ask you to do something without them verbally asking you to do anything. It’s a deep abyssic stare.
The Two Lives of Sara by Catherine Adel West
Read on.
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