looking for grace
LOOKING FOR GRACE is the first novel in McMillan-Herod's GRACE TRILOGY that explores three generations of mental illness in an African-American family. It is 1995 in Dallas, Texas and twenty-four year old Freda Wallis is seven months pregnant with her second child, fed up with her menial job, tired of shacking up with Lionel, and completely worn down by life. She lies in her bathtub and begins to consciously slip under water in an attempt to drown her sorrows.
Awakened in the maternity ward, Freda finds her estranged mother Ellen sitting by her bedside, both her pregnant stomach and Lionel gone. Freda fights to overcome the "hostile darkness" that has plagued her family for generations, and in doing so is forced to face memories of a fractured childhood, unresolved trauma, and visitations from her long-dead grandparents. Join her on her journey through pain, descent into madness, and struggle to build a life worth living.