in black studies, returns seeking 'familial clarity' after years of silence. Having fled a life of manual labor and an unloving family for academia, T.L., now with a Ph.D. From Publishers WeeklyIn Black's thoughtful debut about return to and reconciliation with one's roots, Tommy Lee 'T.L.' Tyson comes home to rural Swamp Creek, Ark., after a 10-year absence. Over the course of a one-week visit, riddled with tension, heartache, and revelation, Tommy Lee Tyson discovers truths about his family, his community, and his undeniable connection to rural Southern black folk and their ways. He refuses vehemently and she dies having bequeathed him her five thousand-book collection in the hopes that he will change his mind. Meanwhile, Tommy's seventy-year-old teacher-lying on her deathbed-asks him to remain in Swamp Creek and assume her position as the headmaster of the one-room schoolhouse.

Only after being prodded incessantly does his older brother, Willie James, relent and provide Tommy Lee with enough knowledge to figure out exactly what happened and why. His mother watches his agony when he discovers his sister's tombstone, but neither she nor other family members is willing to disclose the secret of her death. A cold, nonchalant father and an emotionally indifferent mother make his return, after a ten-year hiatus, practically unbearable, and the discovery of his baby sister's death and her burial in the backyard almost consumes him. in black studies force him back to his rural origins as he seeks to understand himself and the black community that produced him. Twenty-eight-year-old protagonist Tommy Lee Tyson steps off the Greyhound bus in his hometown of Swamp Creek, Arkansas-a place he left when he was eighteen, vowing never to return.

Perfect peace by daniel black