Forgiveness is good for the soul, but it's often difficult. Eisa Ulen tackles this issue in her debut novel, Crystelle Mourning.
The novel's protagonist, who has left West Philadelphia for a life in New York City, thinks she has transcended the ghetto. But she is haunted by memories of her youth and her first love.
Crystelle returns to her birth city to renegotiate a psychic "Middle Passage" that speaks to many blacks who have achieved middle- and upper-middle class security.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.