Accident of Birth

by Heather Neff

Book Overview

Reba Freeman has loved two men in her life. Her current husband, Carl, has supported her through their twenty-year marriage and given her all the material wealth a suburban wife could hope for. Reba... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767917510
• ISBN13: 9780767917513
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Great, Great, Great!

This book had great charachters, was a great story, and just had great everything. It was REAL. Real life things happened in the story and everything did not always turn out rosey and perfect for the charachters. And the drama was not soap-operaish or predictable. Trite things did not happen (such as a woman's husband having an affair with her friend). Also the story was different. I don't want to give the plot away, but the story was different and interesting. While the book was certainly entertaining, it was also a little educational. I got the audio book, and the narrator was FANTASTIC! You should definately read this book.

As a new student of Professor Neff's I am astounded.

When I first read the coarse syllabus to find that the professor was forcing us to read the novel that she authored I thought, "what a sleezy way to make more money." But I was completely wrong. This novel was incredible. I am not a consecutive reader but I only had to pick this book up three times to finish the 360 page masterpiece. Thank you Dr. Neff.

Love is Life

"Reba, a marriage is only happy when out of two minds comes a single future. A man and a woman may love each other very much. But they must also share a sense of purpose and a similar vision. They must be happy with the way their lives unfold together, and satisfied with the manner in which they live." Heather Neff captured my life in these sentences. Her book is a realistic portrayal of the circumstances life can pound into out hearts. She has created two characters who feel not only how to love, but how to live when living doesn't seem worth it. She has molded a story that reminds the reader f how hard the truth can truly be. Her characters will remind you of people in your life and you will relate to what she is saying. I think anyone who has ever given up someone or something in order to 'do what is right', must read this book. I can assure you, you will finish the book in less than two days-you won't want to put it down. READ this book.

Education is Political

ACCIDENT OF BIRTH by Heather Neff is not just a story of a romance between an African-American woman and a Liberian man; it is also a story of political unrest in Liberia. When Reba Freeman attends a fictional historical and religious Christian college in Baltimore, Maryland, she meets and falls in love with Joseph Vai Thomas. Joseph is majoring in Education with hopes of returning to his country to form a school to educate his villagers. What begins as typical college lust quickly spirals into a passion-filled romance with consequences neither Reba nor Joseph can imagine. Something so egregious occurs that Joseph runs back to his native land and Reba is left to wallow in her sorrows in the United States. Twenty years later Reba is married with one child and living in an affluent Northern Virginia suburb. She also works for the Office for the Placement of Permanent Refugees. Joseph is imprisoned for crimes against humanity in Switzerland. Upon learning of his fate Reba uses her professional training to locate him, but her unresolved feelings wreak havoc in her household. Neff expertly takes the story from present day to the past and back again as she allows the reader to become fully enveloped in Reba and Joseph's courtship and its affect on her family and friends. Utilizing settings such as the Baltimore-Washington metro area, Detroit, Reba's birthplace, and the cities of Monrovia and Taylorville, Liberia, we get a visual sense the characters' surroundings. We are treated with lessons of the political and educational climate in both the United States and Liberia and finally, the relationships and misunderstandings among African-Americans and Africans. Neff allows her characters to grow and change through the course of the novel with detailed accounts as to how and why. Excellent work, highly recommended and could serve as a basis for a truly educational discussion. Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

An Engaging Book Of Social Importance

Accident of Birth is a compelling drama about Reba, a woman caught between two loves. Her present husband Carl and her ex husband. A story about holding on then realizing you have to let go and move forward. When her ex husband is held for crimes against humanity Reba is compelled to help him, putting a strain on her marriage to Carl, but Reba needs closure. This is a great book club discussion book because of the many issues it represents. The relationship between Africans and African Americans, the difference in traditions and customs. This makes you painfully aware of the social standards in America and the need for understanding and tolerance. The unjust treatment of people simply from an accident of birth. I was left satisfied, with an ache and a smile. An engaging book of social importance. A powerful read. Reviewed by: Dawnny