Excerpt from The Rest of You by Maame Blue, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Later, Gloria wondered if she had created the scene in her mind, to retell a different story of her parents' relationship, one with a stronger bond, despite its short life. She would never know for certain. But she had watched Mommy put away her "secular records" when the older aunties came to visit, despite her obvious desire for all her daughters to feel that same music in their bones, evident in the names she had given them: Tina, Aretha, and Gloria. All three sisters had found their way into the church choir as children, but Gloria's focus eventually shifted to other types of service, from her training as a nurse to taking charge of Sunday school. Aretha too had lost interest in singing by then—and in church. Tina was the star of the three, taking solos when she was only six; Mommy never got to witness any of it, of course. But Gloria still had the childish hope that she was watching them all from above and that she was pleased.

Excerpted from The Rest of You. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher, Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins. Copyrighted © 2024 by Maame Blue.