Wearing Purple

By Lydia Lewis Alexander

Book Overview

In 1989 we four friends, all living in different parts of the country, decided to form a working circle and write letters to each other to explore our thoughts and feelings about our current life experiences. We were friends holding hands through the experience of growing older, while seeking and finding the emerging possibilities of our lives. This book is a selection of those letters "about our joy, sadness, loss, fulfillment, laughter, and tears." These four women met in 1954 at Talledega College (one of the country's forty historically black colleges) and began an enduring friendship that continues to sustain them more than forty years later. All with accomplished careers, two in long, joyful marriages, one divorced, one widowed, and each a mother (with six sons-no daughters-among them), their intimate letters discuss everything. E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! By sharing their letters in a book, Lydia, Marilyn, Otis, and Mildred reassure us that we are all extraordinary, that we are all spiritual con-querors in our "ordinary" lives--with help from our friends! Their ever-growing closeness, cultivated since their teens and early twenties, reminds us to value our friendships, whatever our age. And, as they enjoy their late fifties, these four women not only give voice to a generation no longer young in years, but they also exuberantly redefine what it means to grow older.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609801740
• ISBN13: 9780609801741
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press
• Length: 223 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Sweet, heartwarming... a tale of true friendship and love

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was educational, and heartwarming and a sweet look into the lives of four women who honestly shared the details of their lives.

Heartwarming!!

This is a great read!! This book shows the value of long-time friendships and demonstrates how friends are fun during the good times, but are necessary to help get through the hard times.These four women share their personal lives with us: their triumphs and their trials. A book that motivates you to call and connect with that close friend that you may not have found time for recently. This is a beautiful story of friendship and the value of sisterhood.Keep us posted ladies!! We are waiting for Wearing Purple - the Sequel.

Happiness is a warm puppy and a few great friends.

This book is a marvelous expression of the true love and support that comes only from having good friends. I initially purchased the book simply because I know one of the authors. I wanted to get an autographed copy for my sister. I naturally purchased one for myself as well. It has helped me to refocus on that which brings true happiness, the joy of having a very few good friends who accept you as you are and love you unconditionally.

This book was inspirational and encouraging.

I truly enjoyed reading about a beautiful, caring "circle" of friends. I hope that through the years I will be able to form a lasting bond with my friends much like the bond that the authors share. Through this book, I realized how precious true friendship can be

This is a must-give book with a great gossip-quotient!

I think that the message of this book is so simple and sweet--that your friends will carry you through your life--and the invitation to join these ladies as friends is so welcoming and warm that I feel I know them! I saw this on Good Morning America and want copies for my best friends