God's Will and Other Lies

by Penny Mickelbury

In this stunning departure from her mystery writing, Penny Mickelbury’s collection of stories God’s Will and Other Lies, attends to the lives of Black women, mostly aging and elderly, all determined to face life with strength and grace.

A nearly blind woman is determined to venture out into the world alone, and must face the consequences of her travels. A woman estranged from her community ponders the meaning of hearsay and its devastating consequences. A middle-aged woman leaves the danger of the city only to find it lurking in her own backyard. And in the novella, “Into the Fire,” Mickelbury follows the life of a southern family as they strive for success amidst the violence and uncertainty of 1960s Detroit.

In beautiful and exacting prose, Mickelbury gives voice to an often-overlooked coterie of women in this superb collection of fiction.

Genres: Short Stories

204 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2019

About the author

Mickelbury is a former newspaper, radio and television reporter based primarily in Washington, D.C. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, she lives in Los Angeles. The novelist and former journalist also is an accomplished playwright whose work has won awards. Two of her Mimi Patterson/Gianna Maglione novels are Lammy finalists. She is the recipient of the Audre Lorde Estate Grant, and she had a residency at the Hedgebrook Women Writers colony.

Reviews

[Bina · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! Every story packed a punch and left me thinking for some time after. I'm glad I've got a lot of Mickelbury's backlist left to read. Full review coming next week fingers crossed!🤞🏽

[BernieMck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each story in this collection is very good. I liked this library book so much,I purchased a copy of my own.

[Misha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful, it’s a story but it’s history and the present. It’s truth, which the best fiction is.