Narratives of Friendship and Love

Narratives of Friendship and Love: (Justin's Story)

           A new addition to the historically underrepresented male friendship genre, Narratives of Friendship and Love: (Justin's Story) tells the story of three lifelong friends, Justin, Travis, and Kerry, as they take time out of preparing for Travis's wedding to catch up with their everyday lives before heading to Jamaica for a family vow renewal ceremony.

           Justin, on whom this book focuses, has been happily married to Lina for years. Together they have two children, Triston and Jasmine. Justin spends his free time with his family and coaching his children's sports teams. An Army veteran, Justin uses his past training to discipline himself and to keep order in his own house, all with good humor. Travis and his soon to be Morgan discuss the ups and downs of planning their future. Kerry, the lone bachelor, is always down for some fun - and sometimes trouble. The metaphorical devil on his friends' shoulders, Kerry is always encouraging his devoted friends to let loose and go wild, often with mixed results.

           Perpetually single Kerry can't stop ragging on Travis and Justin about their happy relationships. But before long, both men begin to suspect that their friend - with his bluster and swagger - might be protesting too much.

When the three men - along with Lina and Morgan - jet off to Jamaica to attend the vow renewal of some elder family members, they find themselves in a lush, tropical setting that unleashes some of their pent-up frustration and desires.

           Narratives of Friendship and Love: (Justin's Story) is the first in an eventual three-book series, the next book focusing on Kerry. Laying the groundwork for a much more expansive exploration of male friendship, Justin's Story focuses on the origin of the relationship between the three men and the ways in which a shared past can ensure support for the future. In a world where friends are family and know all your secrets, it can be both essential to have the love of your friends and frustrating to forever be defined by who you once were. Justin, Travis, and Kerry explore this dynamic as they relive their glory days, move forward into their uncertain future, and reflect on the lives they have made for themselves, some questioning whether the lives they are leading are genuine or a role in which they have been cast.

           With colorful dialogue, vivid descriptions, and true to life relationships, Narratives of Friendship and Love: (Justin's Story) takes readers on a journey into the lives of young Black Men make for themselves among their friends and the ways in which the family we choose can literally save our lives. A sparse genre that has largely been relegated to film and television, normal, healthy male friendship too often goes unexplored in the world of fiction and literature. Narratives of Friendship and Love: (Justin's Story) - and eventually the larger trilogy - seeks to remedy that by bringing the characters to life and inviting the readers to join them in their engaging and authentic world.