An Ocean of Jewels

Book excerpt: When Imani Jewel Henderson's mysterious father dies on her 29th birthday, Christmas day, 1999, she begins a journey toward self-love, and faces many challenges. Can she unravel the secrets of her family's disturbing past when she was a foster child? Why did her mother commit suicide and leave her all alone? Why did her father keep notes about a holy river, an Orphan Train, and a murder in 1901? How will she battle depression and alcohol addiction? Will Imani heal from two abusive relationships with married men? How can she repair what she destroyed when she slept with her best friend's husband? Will she ever find the love that will connect her to her Gullah/Geechee heritage? Imani discovers that the answers are hidden in the rich details of her African American family traditions of quilts, folklore, Eva Creek Island, and the affluent town of Jewel Park, New York.