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Lemonade: Inspired by Actual Events
"I grabbed a magazine during the wait and also to keep from having to look at people who walked by my general area. It felt like every eye in that wing of the building was on me. They knew I didn't work there so I had to be visiting for the other reason. Indeed, I was making more out of it because whenever I glanced up, people were minding their own business, not even realizing I was there. What I was feeling was my own sense of paranoia. I was reading some issue in Ebony about how Mo'Nique was on the come-up. I was so enrapt in the article that I hadn't realized that Judge was standing at the door, holding it open, trying to get my attention. 'Bernard!'"
A small, quaint house in North Carolina blends in with its environment as typical American homes do. Neighbors speak. Dogs bark. Children play. The Dillard name is highly respected within the local community, and all appears to be well on the home front. Within the four walls of this home, however, a war zone exists, and Bernard discovers that he unwillingly must prepare for battle and transform into a soldier at an early age. Although he has taught himself how to smile through it, no one has a clue what he and his siblings are quietly enduring every night in their tiny world. With no manual for this exhausting role, he is forced to learn quickly the art of survival throughout his childhood, his teens, and his young adult years, relying on help from extended family, teachers, and coaches.
As he navigates through adulthood, he seeks to maintain a steady social, professional, and spiritual beat while attempting to lay to rest the experiences that have frustrated him in his past. His odyssey, with all of its ebbs and flows, highs and lows, successes and failures, proves to be challenging yet rewarding. Even so, Bernard courageously opens his hands and unveils what he has done with the lemons of life that he found himself holding.
Simply put, Lemonade is a story about the youth of today and their struggle to become the successful men and women of tomorrow.
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A small, quaint house in North Carolina blends in with its environment as typical American homes do. Neighbors speak. Dogs bark. Children play. The Dillard name is highly respected within the local community, and all appears to be well on the home front. Within the four walls of this home, however, a war zone exists, and Bernard discovers that he unwillingly must prepare for battle and transform into a soldier at an early age. Although he has taught himself how to smile through it, no one has a clue what he and his siblings are quietly enduring every night in their tiny world. With no manual for this exhausting role, he is forced to learn quickly the art of survival throughout his childhood, his teens, and his young adult years, relying on help from extended family, teachers, and coaches.
As he navigates through adulthood, he seeks to maintain a steady social, professional, and spiritual beat while attempting to lay to rest the experiences that have frustrated him in his past. His odyssey, with all of its ebbs and flows, highs and lows, successes and failures, proves to be challenging yet rewarding. Even so, Bernard courageously opens his hands and unveils what he has done with the lemons of life that he found himself holding.
Simply put, Lemonade is a story about the youth of today and their struggle to become the successful men and women of tomorrow.
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- GenresNonfiction
328 pages, Paperback
First published January 12, 2012
9 people are currently reading
1427 people want to read
About the author
Bernard L. Dillard
4 books26 followersBERNARD L. DILLARD was born in Durham, NC. He is the author of Two ‘Til Midnight: A Novel, which was declared a 2020 Winner in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. He is also the author of Lemonade: Inspired by Actual Events, a 2013 Winner in Dan Poynter’s Global eBook Awards. Further, he has authored Moneymatics and co-authored Elementary Statistics, two textbooks widely used in colleges across the country. An associate professor, he teaches Statistical Analysis and The Mathematics of Financial Life Management at Fashion Institute of Technology. He has had a few acting stints (The Wire) and several modeling assignments (Sean John). He earned his bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Morehouse College and obtained graduate degrees from Emory University and University of Maryland. He currently resides in Brooklyn.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 4, 2013
I think that anyone who reads this book will find it well written and attention grabbing. There aren’t many people, let alone men, that are willing to bare their souls to strangers and with this book, the author does just that. Many people are familiar with coming from a fragmented family, overcoming obstacles and coming out on top. The author gives a detailed description of doing just that despite the many stumbles he experiences and the odds being stacked against him. His story is well written and starts out with him reminiscing about why he chooses to write and what he chooses to write about. I was drawn into Bernard's story by his style of writing. I felt as if I was in the book observing what was actually happening. I loved the way he even used the way people in North Carolina speak phonetically to make the reader understand the locale of this tale. Anyone reading this book will empathize with Bernard feels his pain and rejoices in his victories as he moves from being a child to becoming a man in his own right. I highly recommend it and can assure any reader that they will not regret it.
Zandra Barnes
AAMBC Reviewer
Zandra Barnes
AAMBC Reviewer
June 9, 2013
Lemons into Lemonade
Bernard is the youngest of three. His parents once worked at IBM that afforded them to live in a decent neighborhood in Durham, NC. A few bad choices brought about some drastic changes. How will these changes affect the children?
When I first received the book, the title and cover made me a little suspicious. Once I got a few chapters under my belt, the title became catchy and the cover obvious. Bernard L. Dillard shares his experiences, good and bad. He does an excellent job of illustrating how to move forward and not become a victim to your circumstances. I recommend "Lemonade" because it shows how determination, forgiveness, prayer and faith can carry you a long way. Bernard L. Dillard took the lemons he was given and made lemonade.
Reviewed by: Jas
Bernard is the youngest of three. His parents once worked at IBM that afforded them to live in a decent neighborhood in Durham, NC. A few bad choices brought about some drastic changes. How will these changes affect the children?
When I first received the book, the title and cover made me a little suspicious. Once I got a few chapters under my belt, the title became catchy and the cover obvious. Bernard L. Dillard shares his experiences, good and bad. He does an excellent job of illustrating how to move forward and not become a victim to your circumstances. I recommend "Lemonade" because it shows how determination, forgiveness, prayer and faith can carry you a long way. Bernard L. Dillard took the lemons he was given and made lemonade.
Reviewed by: Jas
September 9, 2018
Congrats Bernard ...
First I want to applaud the author for finishing and publishing a book. It’s not as easy as some would believe. Now tHis book was more of a summary autobiography. Mr. Dillard skim over areas where he could have provide detail and detailed areas that could have been summarized in one sentence. He talked about his father drug use and how that affected him but from what I read it didn’t seem that bad to me. Everybody has at least one addict in the family he just happened to live with his. Plus eventually he escaped and went to live with his grandparents. One other part I found odd was how he never said he had a way to pay for his PHD. I learned that it was paid through a scholarship but that was explained chapters later. I feel like another aspect of this book that’s missing is him giving the reader a good look at who he really is. He told us all about his great accomplishments but nothing about his struggles with woman or the sexual abuse.
First I want to applaud the author for finishing and publishing a book. It’s not as easy as some would believe. Now tHis book was more of a summary autobiography. Mr. Dillard skim over areas where he could have provide detail and detailed areas that could have been summarized in one sentence. He talked about his father drug use and how that affected him but from what I read it didn’t seem that bad to me. Everybody has at least one addict in the family he just happened to live with his. Plus eventually he escaped and went to live with his grandparents. One other part I found odd was how he never said he had a way to pay for his PHD. I learned that it was paid through a scholarship but that was explained chapters later. I feel like another aspect of this book that’s missing is him giving the reader a good look at who he really is. He told us all about his great accomplishments but nothing about his struggles with woman or the sexual abuse.
May 25, 2016
Humility, Deep Insights, and Breakthrough are all words that describe this book.
Bernard Dillard struck a very deep chord with "Lemonade: Inspired by Actual Events." I received this book as a giveaway and have found it deeply inspiring and moving. I have shared insights that I've captured with quite a few people since reading this book. Bernard is honest, humble, and to the point with the hard, gut wrenching struggles of a painful childhood and his climb to success in life. Something most people struggle to convey or break free from; much less write about. There is a lot that can be learned from "Lemonade".
Bernard Dillard struck a very deep chord with "Lemonade: Inspired by Actual Events." I received this book as a giveaway and have found it deeply inspiring and moving. I have shared insights that I've captured with quite a few people since reading this book. Bernard is honest, humble, and to the point with the hard, gut wrenching struggles of a painful childhood and his climb to success in life. Something most people struggle to convey or break free from; much less write about. There is a lot that can be learned from "Lemonade".
February 24, 2014
I won this book on Goodread's First Reads.
From the first page to the last it was hard to put this book down. I loved how it was written and how he captured the emotions of the life events and how he threw some humor in at the right times to relieve some of the horrors and stress of reading some of the horrific events he wrote about.
This book was a wonderful, painful, and most of all inspiring read.
From the first page to the last it was hard to put this book down. I loved how it was written and how he captured the emotions of the life events and how he threw some humor in at the right times to relieve some of the horrors and stress of reading some of the horrific events he wrote about.
This book was a wonderful, painful, and most of all inspiring read.
November 7, 2013
Lemonade is a wonderful and encouraging read! It is a true story that combines truth (and some humour too)in a retelling of Dillard's life from a young age. This book reveals through strength of character and unwavering faith that even when the odds are stacked against you, you CAN overcome and be the best person that God wants you to be!
June 20, 2015
I'd give this two stars because it was very lengthy (or felt that way), lots of things we didn't really need to know to get the whole picture of the story. It seemed all over the place at times - one thing to another.
I liked the topics it included. I'm not really religious but all the God stuff didn't bother me in this book. Bit too political though.
Here's to tomorrow
I liked the topics it included. I'm not really religious but all the God stuff didn't bother me in this book. Bit too political though.
Here's to tomorrow
June 11, 2014
This young man has such insight into his life. A bit too heavy handed with how he described his belief system, though it does not take away from the very perceptive assessment of the flaws and strengths of his family and mentors.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews