Book Description
Lisa wants to sing, but pursuing her dream means challenging her mother, who has her own dreams for what Lisa should be.
As Lisa becomes more determined to find her own voice, her choices transform the lives of those around her and even expand the dreams of her band leader.
But Lisa's growing independence comes at a price. Her mother sees her choices as rebellion and increasingly tries to control her through fear, religion, and punishment. The more Lisa questions the beliefs imposed on her, the more determined her mother becomes to bring her back into line. Surrounded by friends, music, family conflict, and competing ideas about faith and identity, Lisa must decide how much she is willing to risk to become the person she wants to be.
Different Voices One Song is a story of music, family, faith, friendship, and one young woman finding the courage to claim her own voice.
Let this be yor next good read.
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What You'll Experience in Different Voices One Song
As you follow Lisa’s story and the interplay of the people in her world, you will discover how different dreams, beliefs, and voices can edify or diminish one another. The novel does not shy away from the complexity of human motives.
Excerpt from Different Voices One Song
Lisa winced at the girl in the mirror as she listened to herself. Was that her voice bellowing through her headphones? She sounded good. But she didn’t want to sound good. She wanted to sound unforgettable. Her band leader said she did. Richard loved to hear her sing the songs he wrote. But she wanted to sound that way to herself. And she didn’t. She watched herself sing the words, moving as if she were standing on stage before a crowd of thousands. This was how she’d sound. That was how she’d look. If only she could hear and see what Richard heard and saw. If only she could dance like her older sister Chloe. When Chloe danced, the audience cheered. Not for Lisa. She imagined the audience booing and throwing rotten eggs. A long-handled hook reached out to drag her back behind the curtain. She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see it, as if her imagination wouldn’t work with her eyes closed. Her headphones didn’t block out all sound, so it took a moment for her to realize that what she heard was the phone ringing, not the music. She shrugged. This was her mother’s house, and her mother’s phone. Lisa was about to focus on the music when her mother screamed. Lisa stopped mid-step. What was going on? “Lord, have mercy! What else can happen to my child before she gets enough of fooling with the devil. I knew something bad would come of fooling with them African devil worshippers. Now this.” Now what? Lisa went into the living room, where her mother stood wringing her hands and muttering a prayer that sounded more like an accusation against her children. Lisa heard the name Chloe and shuddered. Her mother never mentioned her sister’s name except to say something bad. Uncle Charlie rose from the couch as soon as he saw Lisa. “Put your shoes and coat on. We got to go. Your sister’s in the hospital. She done got herself raped.” Lisa gasped. He made it sound like something Chloe had done to herself. In their minds, she had. But this was horrible. She went back into her room, pulled on her shoes, and grabbed a jacket. Lisa sat in the back seat while Uncle Charlie pulled his 1998 Somekinda Ford into traffic. Los Angeles whizzed by like everything was everything — totally oblivious to the tragedy that was separating her family. When they arrived, she stood with her mother and Uncle Charlie beside the hospital bed and wondered why the woman showed no compassion for the mass of lumps and bruises on her eldest daughter’s face. A rapist had pummeled it, but Charlotte Marshall and Uncle Charlie glowered down at Chloe with righteous indignation. “Stop it.” Lisa wanted to scream, but she considered the safety of her permanent teeth and decided not to.
Note from Author Rhonda Denise Johnson
Writing this novel was a challenge. For one thing, I had to grapple with my own demons before I could raise demons in the lives of my characters.