Awards

• Commended for Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards (Multicultural Fiction) 2022

Overview

As first seen in the pages of the racial equity storytelling project Before Ferguson Beyond Ferguson, the semi-autobiographical narrative memoir Seeking Forgiveness tells the story of interracial adoption in the United States today, from the perspective of a white mother who adopts a Black son, and finds she has no idea what she is in for. Rachel, the adoptive mother of Miles, receives a call from the police in the middle of the night informing her that her son has been arrested. She rushes to the police station to help Miles, consumed with worry that she has failed to protect her son from events beyond his control. For the next eight hours, as Rachel desperately tries to get Miles out of jail, she recalls their life together and the events that have led them to their current situation. In so doing she questions her competence as a mother, the viability of interracial adoption, and whether her son will ever forgive her for the mistakes she made as his adoptive mother. A rich commentary on motherhood, adoption, and race relations in America today, this suspenseful narrative memoir will linger long after the immediate tension of the novel has been resolved.

Full Product Details

9780990861645

Table of Contents

Reviews

"The author presents a searing, complex picture of adoption and the reality that love can only overcome so much...an engagingly written and well-structured book."" -- Kirkus Reviews By blending autobiography with the drama of a novel revolving around an adoptive mother's realizations about racial issues engrained in her life and America as a whole, readers receive an engrossing story that encourages thought and debate. Libraries looking for memorable accounts of biracial experience and issues will find Seeking Forgiveness a persuasive story that ideally will invite biracial debate on all kinds of issues, from parenting to justice and biracial relations in America. -- Midwest Book Review There is no question that this is a unique and original novel, with a singular and profound narration. The subject of the work is Miles, but the true, in-depth exploration is really of Rachel, his mother, who examines her role and responsibility as a white mother to a Black son. Powerful and enlightening, Seeking Forgiveness is a thought-provoking examination of an interracial mother/son relationship. Overall rating: 10/10 -- BookLife Review Seeking Forgiveness by Lea Rachel is a book that once started, you will find difficult to put down...Seeking Forgiveness is a five-star recommended reading. -- ManyBooks Editorial Review A truly absorbing, enthralling, fictional tale that holds you on the edge of your seat, and that stays with the reader long after the reading's done. Seeking Forgiveness holds a mirror up to motherhood, society, and hope, all while telling a captivating tale with great characters, genuine feeling, and convincing voice. ... I truly loved this book! Highly recmmended. -- Sheila Deeth's Reviews LOVED IT! A powerful story about a white mother trying to save her Black son from racist accusations. The story is engagingly written and held my interest. -- Lanette S., Reedsy Discovery A thought-provoking and emotionally gripping 5-star read. -- Reader Views Book Reviews This was beautifully written. -- Sienna S'Zell Very insightful and empathetic coverage of what one white woman experiences as the adoptive mother of a black boy ... very eye-opening ... it rings true to the nature of our white society. -- Michael Coury"

Author Information

Lea Rachel comes from a literary background. Her grandmother, Beki Bahar, is an internationally published Turkish author and poet and her uncle, Anthony Kosnik, co-authored a number of well-respected liturgical books. Lea has been writing short stories since she was a little girl, and while in college at The University of Michigan she had two short stories published in competitive University of Michigan literary publications, Prism and The Write Stuff.Over the years Lea has traveled, wrote, and established a career as a university professor. Her first published book, The Other Shakespeare, won an honorable mention from the London-based Wishing Shelf Book Awards. The Other Shakespeare tells the story of William Shakespeare, had he been born a woman. Drawing inspiration from Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, Lea Rachel imagines the difficulties a female Shakespeare might have had, trying to pursue her craft while breaking the bounds of modern convention.Lea's most recent published book, Seeking Forgiveness, similarly investigates themes of representation and cultural repression. It tells the story of inter-racial adoption from the standpoint of a white woman who adopts a Black son and finds that she has no idea what in the world she is doing. A semi-autobiographical narrative memoir, Seeking Forgiveness draws deeply from Lea Rachel's personal experiences with adoption and the raising of an inter-racial family.Lea has attended the University of Iowa summer writing workshops, and is a dedicated member of a local, and enthusiastic, St. Louis writing group. You can read samples of her writing, including the award-winning Insidious Red Parasite, on her writing page.

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