Jean Goulbourne Knihy

Set in 1959 Jamaica, the story follows Janelle as she navigates family challenges during her visit to her cousins, Selena and Diana. While she looks forward to their time together, Janelle grapples with her baby brother Mikey's developmental delays, her parents' conflicts over a nativity play, and her struggles to make friends at school. Compounding her worries is Diana's involvement with a cult. Through her diary, Janelle captures her heartfelt experiences in this poignant historical narrative.

Set against the backdrop of rural Jamaica, the story unfolds as Maggie's dreams of marrying Long Dan shatter when he ties the knot with another woman. This unexpected turn triggers a complex entanglement of romance, deceit, and betrayal, affecting not only the adults but also their children. The narrative explores the deep emotional consequences of love and the intricate relationships that form amidst heartbreak.

Exploring the spectrum of human experience, Jean Goulbourne's poetry captures themes of sorrow and joy, contrasting elements like day and night, and life and death. Through her verses, she emphasizes the shared essence of humanity amidst cultural differences, urging readers to embrace love over hate. "A New Day" serves as a poignant reminder of our commonality in a diverse world, inviting acceptance and understanding across races and creeds.

Exploring the dualities of life, Jean Goulbourne's poetry reflects the spectrum of human experience, encompassing themes of sorrow and joy, existence and mortality, and the contrasts of abundance and deprivation. Through her work, she emphasizes the shared humanity that transcends cultural differences, urging readers to embrace love over hate. "A New Day" serves as a poignant reminder of our collective journey toward acceptance and understanding in a diverse world.

Focusing on the resilience and creativity of women in Jamaica, the book highlights their struggles against abuse, poverty, and abandonment. It showcases the lives of black women in the Caribbean, emphasizing their resistance and assertion of selfhood as a source of hope. Jean Goulbourne captures the complex emotions of grief and aspiration, illustrating the unyielding spirit of these women and their quest for a rightful place in society.

Baker Street is the home of A Butter - yes, that is what everyone calls him - a destitute young man from the inner city, someone who is used to picking pockets and begging on the street. When the mother of his five children becomes gravely ill, A Butter is thrust into unfamiliar territory as the family's primary caregiver. Determined to become a better father to his children, and a better partner to their mother Shawna, he rises to the occasion and overcomes the many obstacles in his path on the way to a purpose-driven life. A Butter becomes a good example for the youth of Baker Street, showing them that with hard work and ambition they can make it in life no matter the circumstances.

Janice, a teenager, shares a room with her mother in a tenement yard. Her mother, a caregiver with dreams of becoming a nurse, goes to work in an upper St. Andrew suburb. Janice is excited and happy to accompany her mother to live in new luxurious surroundings. She already attends a high school where she finds it difficult to adjust because her classmates are mostly from wealthy families, and she soon realizes that life is not a 'bed of roses', even in her new environment. Follow Janice's journey as she jumps over the hurdles in her path, stumbling but never falling...