The story of three women go through the ups and downs of parenthood, while dealing with the men in their lives.
Blu’s boyfriend taught her the ins and outs of sexual bliss, and in exchange she had two sons to show for it. After doing the on again, off again, thing, Blu had what could loosely be considered a family of her own. A night of stupidity changed that, when her boyfriend Manuel got left holding the bag on a drug charge, and was sent to prison. Now Blu must decided if she is willing to standing by her man, wait out the sentence, and see what the future holds, or moving forward with her life to make something better for her boys -- alone.
Ashanti tried to get it right. She married who she thought was the perfect man. Their union was what her dreams had been made of, and it only seemed right to start a family. Her husband’s doting ways would no doubt be showered on their baby. Ashanti soon found herself caring for not one, not two, but four babies, and wondering when the fairytale turned into nightmare.
Sandra is just happy to be alive. After suffering a childhood laden with physical and sexual abuse, she thankful just to have a husband that extends so much love and patience. However his biological clock is ticking loudly, and his desire to enter the world of parenting has Sandra more than a little apprehensive. How can she be a good parent when she has no idea what that is?
Higher aspirations and a college campus, bring these three women together. Their bond of friendship serves to strengthen their resolve to take charge of their lives, and propels them to become more than just another statistic.
Professional Reviews
Raw sistaz
Reviewed: December 22, 2005
Babies' Daddies by Marlene Ricketts
Morris Publishing, 2005
228 Pages, Trade Paperback, $14.95
ISBN: 0976933519
GENRE: Fiction
RAW Rating: 3.5
We shall overcome …
Three women with three different situations - one goal in mind. Blu, Ashanti and Sandra didn't expect to become such good friends while attending classes together, but the fabric of life continuously weaves them together.
Blu is more than angry, she's just about ready to scream. Left to raise two kids alone after her boyfriend got a drug rap and was sent to prison, she's determined to make it. Although she would love to wait for him, she can't get over the fact that he chose his friends over his family and realizes that the most important thing in her life right now is getting ahead.
Ashanti's had her fair share of trouble with men - and then some. Being abandoned with twins by her husband was hard enough, but being date raped and left with baby number three, then getting pregnant with her no-good boyfriend's child was entirely too much for her to handle. After realizing life does offer something better, she decides to put one foot in front of the other to find out what it is.
Sandra is battling with her own demons. Being a newlywed, she's terrified of becoming a new mother. Her life was filled with disappointments, and she doesn't want to project this onto anyone else. Can her new husband fill the void that she's missing, or will she crumble under the strain?
BABIES' DADDIES was filled with real-life situations; situations that make you sit down and think about the choices we make in life. Marlene Ricketts does a great job of meshing the worlds of the three women, guiding readers through the value of friendship, loyalty and being true-to-self. This is a definite inspiration for anyone whose life has been plagued with disappointments.
Reviewed by Belinda of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers
http://www.rawsistaz.com
OOSA Book club
Babies Daddies
(O.O.S.A. rating 4 stars)
Blu has tackled being a mother of two, for eight year old Manny Jr. and four year old Maleek. Manny Jr. needs a real attitude adjustment and nothing is ever good enough for him. Maleek is still too young to understand that his deadbeat father is wasting his life away. Both Blu and the kids are tired of “visiting” hours and wish that Manny Senior would get his act together. Manny Sr. still has yet to decide if being a daddy is worth him giving up the streets.
Ashanti’s idea of having the perfect family has fallen by the wayside while caring for her four young children. Her set of twins, Dione and Tione, haven’t heard from their father in years. Her youngest son Chris doesn’t even know who his father is. While she tries to hold onto her last hope, Jasmine’s daddy, Travon, Ashanti has to figure out if having a deadbeat man is better than having no man at all.
Sandra has it all, at least in her girlfriend’s eyes. Her husband J’Shawn worships the ground she walks on. Sandra has beaten the odds after growing up in a rough family and later becoming a ward of the state. Her knight in shining armor has been with her through thick and thin and now Sandra must pay him back in the ultimate way. Will the childhood that she has tried to forget end up making her lose the one and only person who has stood by her?
By reading the title, there might be a faint thought of “here we go daddy bashing,” but it is on the contrary. Marlene took each man at face value and called it how she saw it, yet she also gave the idea of not all men are alike. There are good men out there. Marlene Ricketts does a great job of mixing three women with different outlooks focusing on one common denominator, motherhood.
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'Coruscated Confabulations' is a collection of stories and experiences, most of which took place in prior decades. They are taken from or based upon real events, with a certain admixture of fictional embellishments.
