Life Goes On As We Know It

Mona was an eight-year old colored girl who was raised in Wisconsin during the 1950's. Her father was an electrician and her mother raised her and her siblings in a segregated environment. This book describes her life in a family that is trying to make ends meet in a post-world war two era. Mona is born prematurely because her mother is raped by a relative causing early labor. Despite her early entry into the world she survives to live in the oppressed world of an African American. She describes the family's journeys to the south to visit relatives in Georgia. During these visits she witnessed a lynching and learned that colored people in the south had to behave in an even more subservient manner. Her family is further disrupted when she finds out she has a half-brother. This book is unique because it is written from the perspective of a young eight year old colored girl. All the stories in this book are true but names have been changed to protect the identity of the family. The images evoked from her description of these life changing events compels the reader to vividly understand the experience of colored people during these difficult times.