Let God Solve It

Book excerpt: This is a story set in Lusaka, Zambia, about Martha, a woman who had been entrapped in an abusive marriage. Her husband, Gerry, had been cruel to her and to the child Martha had had before she met and married him. When she conceived their second child together, he had forced her to have an abortion saying he loved their first child too much to love another. He was blatantly unfaithful, often taking his girlfriend home when Martha was at work, in full view of their children. Suffering the dilemma of having to decide what was best to do for her children's sake, she tried to bear her woes as best as she could. She revived a relationship with an old boyfriend thinking it would give her satisfaction but found out that it only made her feel worse. She finally mustered enough courage to divorce her husband once she realized things would never get better. Once on her own, Martha tried to catch up on things she had longed to do since leaving high school. She had always loved music and she contacted a local hotel about singing there at the cabaret shows they gave. She started singing there, balancing her time between her secretarial job and her music. With support form relatives and friends, she was finally coming out of her shell and blossoming. Then Martha meets a man who promises to help her with her music if she would give up her day job to become a professional musician.