Mama Shug: the Bridge Whom We Loved so Dearly

Book excerpt: Growing up in a very small city of Natchitoches, Louisiana, the oldest one in the Louisiana Purchase, author, Bonita Grace Moses, was not only the youngest sibling but also the only girl, along with four brothers, born to Elena Moses. She was reared by her mother and her grandmother, Georgiana Moses, in a small three-room house. In Mama Shug: the Bridge Whom We Loved So Dearly, Moses shares her life story and how it was particularly influenced by her God-fearing grandmother, affectionately known as Mama Shug, who lived to the age of ninety-eight. This memoir narrates how Mama Shug quit school at age seven to care for her siblings, but she instilled the importance of a good education in her grandchildren. Full of wisdom, Moses grandmother also preached how faith in the Lord was central to life. She was a woman who lived what she practiced. A testament to the strength, tenacity, spirituality, and love of Mama Shug, this memoir describes the life of one woman who paved the way and provided an important foundation helping her grandchildren achieve success.