Indiefied- Lesley Ann Brown's The Organist's Daughter (Bandit Queen Press)

When The Bandit Queen Press was initially announced, I was hyped. The presence and determination that vibrate through the press' mission are what movements are made of. History-making begins with ideas like these, as grassroots that become the foundations beneath our feet.
So when I received my copy of the press' first title, The Organist's Daughter, I already held the expectation that I would be impressed, I just didn't anticipate how deeply. I began reading the book at a barbershop, having brought it along with I waited on my son to finish being coiffed.
By the time my hands turned to page 2, my eyes were glazing over, and I found myself catching tears in my throat to keep from crying in public. Within several days, we were on our way to Philly for the Ecbacc convention, and it happened again. In line waiting for the bus to Philadelphia. I found myself pushing the tears down, and taking gulps of fresh air to calm myself.

Lesley-Ann Brown commands attention from the beginning lines, revealing the connection between a daughter and iconic father. He who seemed to exude strength was now forced to be vulnerable, and she once forced to skip vulnerability when too tender to be strong was now faced with the need for honest assessment, and reasoned forgiveness at an impossible time.

As the daughter of a man conditioned to appear strong, I was struck by the careful way she wielded her regard and the bravery in her delivery of truth.

The Organist's Daughter is the honest and lush journal of an island girl who cuts away delusion with a sharp reasoned knife, bearing no malice toward the human experience's ache, or the delayed journey answers make to the heart long after the questions have been asked.
It is the memoir of a conscious heart, kindly extending its embrace to life, while patiently knowing the delays of reciprocity, as it delights in the oft overlooked joys that peer up at us wondering if we will notice them as we look onto things we hope will look to us with similar regard.


Visit Blackgirl on Mars to enjoy the mind and heart jewels of Lesley-Ann Brown