Books You Should Read : ‘How Ya Like Me Now’ by Leslie Morris

Leslie A. Morris’s book “How Ya Like Me Now!” is a wonderful depiction of family life growing up in the first generation projects of Long Branch, New Jersey.

How Ya Like Me Now! By Leslie Morris

Leslie captures the realness of what it meant to be a part of a family, the trials and tribulations that came along with it and how she persevered with the help of her extended family and friends.

What I like most about “How Ya Like Me Now” is that Morris focuses on God, family and knowing where she came from in order to reach the success that she attains today. Morris touches on sibling rivalry and why she acted out the way that she did while growing up in the projects.

She also takes us on a journey with her brush with the juvenile justice system and how God brought her through the anger that she was experiencing.

It takes a village

She shows us the love of her family whether it was good or bad. The one thing that she knew growing up in the projects is that it was a whole village looking and watching her. Leslie had great role models within her matriarchal setting. These were strong beautiful Black women, although uneducated, they knew the ways of the world. She describes in such grace and detail how these women played a key role in her current success. She describes in detail of her own family problems, which mirrored similarities with families that existed in the projects.

Morris also talks about the unconditional love for her father in her life. This is something that I believe that has been tackled for the first time and she does it with such great emotional discourse.

Morris was one tough cookie with a lot of fight in her. I watched her blossom as a fighter to a young lady that went off to the prestigious Simmons College. She was able to use her experience and schooling to help other kids that are in crisis today. It is by no surprise to me that she would take on such an important role in her life. I am so glad that she put this amazing book together to share with Unheard Voices readers to show that it is not where you come from and what you go through but what you do to better your situation. She is a modern day soldier that used her background, experience, education and knowledge to reach out to her students/clients and patients in all the important jobs that she held during her successful career as psychiatric social worker.

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