Lessons from Our Picnic Table

About the Book

Monalisa looks back at growing up in a large African American family, revealing the ordeals that a black child and woman must often navigate in this memoir.

Lessons from Our Picnic Table is organized in a loose autobiographical form to provide readers with insights on how the author overcame racism in her formative and developmental years.
That table was the center of her universe when she grew up. Large enough to seat ten to twelve children, it was the spot where everything was announced, analyzed, argued, and absolved. There was no actual seating arrangement; folks were seated on a first-come, first-served basis.
A theme throughout this book is that we all become stronger, more loving beings as our experiences become more diverse, complex, and challenging.

Join the author as she looks back at how she overcame a series of challenges to become a happy, strong Black woman.

About the Author

I wrote this book as my own catharsis and to reflect on my appreciation of the life I have lived. I am so grateful for my parents and Uncle Pops and the work they put in teaching me how to survive and thrive in this land.