Journey Home: Passage to WomanhoodPaperback, 10 May 2016

Journey Home is the story of Tamara Woodson, who lives in the American West in the 1880s. She is smart and sassy, and has a mind of her own. Like many black families of that era following slavery, her family traveled west and founded their own town.

Tamara Woodson is at a turning point in her life. She begins a journey of self-discovery that reveals important connections to her ancestral past. Prompted by her ambitions and experiences, she prepares herself for an uncertain future.

At one point, Tamara's fears are expressed in a dream that intertwines a Nigerian Yoruba folktale. She learns to interpret important symbols. At another, Tamara learns about the Apache Indian culture from a girl who is preparing for her own elaborate coming of age ceremony. Exposure to these two cultures helps Tamara validate the values and traditions of others as well as her own. As she matures, Tamara learns to let go of her own fears and to rely on her inner strength.

Journey Home is book one in the juvenile historical fiction series, "Passage to Womanhood."