Broadway Books' New Book, LIFELINES, Contains the Wisdom of the Ages (with Foreword by the Archbishop Desmond Tutu)

Birmingham, AL, February 11, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Authors Askhari and Yvonne share a passion for proverbs. Short, snappy sayings surround their lives. During their upbringings, they both learned, “proverbs are the daughters of experience” (Sierra Leone). Thus, LIFELINES draws inspiration from the authors’ experience and proverb gathering during their wide travels and particularly in their home communities on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Readers experiencing new births, weddings, career changes, death, and other rites of passage will find truth in the saying, “When the occasion arises, there is a proverb to suit it” (Rwanda). Indeed, LIFELINES offers wisdom for every stage of our lives. For example:

- Birth and Parenting: “When a yam does not grow well, do not blame the yam; it is because of the soil.” (Ghana)
- Marriage: “Getting married is nothing: it is assuming the responsibility of marriage that counts.” (Haiti)
- Money Problems: “The poor person does not experience poverty all the time.”
(Ghana)
- Peace and War: “To engage in conflict, one does not bring a knife that cuts but a needle that sews. (Kiswahili)

Unlike other proverb collections, LIFELINES is uniquely arranged by life cycle themes from birth to death and speaks to the tragedy and triumph in between. Intuitive illustrations introduce each section along with unforgettable vignettes showing how African proverbs comfort, inspire, and instruct during different phases of life.

LIFELINES is a gift for the young and the old, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Its wide reach—from Nairobi to New Orleans and from birth to death—coupled with its small trim size make it the perfect companion for a christening or a baptism; a wedding or an anniversary party; the joyous celebration of birthdays or the quiet sadness of funerals.

LIFELINES sharpens understanding of how traditions, civilization, and spirit survive and thrive, despite centuries of loss of freedom, family, identity, language, land, and wealth.

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About the Authors & Illustrator:
Askhari Johnson Hodari, Ph.D., an Africana Studies scholar and activist, earned degrees from Spelman College and Howard University. A former professor of African American Studies, she is the author of The African Book of Names. Originally from South Carolina, she was raised in Maryland and she now lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Yvonne McCalla Sobers, a former educator who studied at the University of the West Indies, is currently a human and community development consultant, and also a human rights activist and researcher. She is the author of Delicious Jamaica!: Vegetarian Cuisine. Apart from a decade spent in Ghana, and then England, Yvonne has lived all her life in Kingston, Jamaica.

Katie Yamasaki earned her MFA from New York City's School of Visual Arts. She works primarily as a public artist and illustrator and has developed murals and other community art projects throughout the United States, Cuba, Namibia and Japan. Katie illustrated HONDA: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars, and is a teaching artist at Ballet Tech, the New York City Public School for Dance. She lives in Brooklyn.

LIFELINES
The Black Book of Proverbs
By Askhari Johnson Hodari and Yvonne McCalla Sobers
Published by Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
Hardcover; On-Sale: November 10, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7679-3120-5; 256 pages; $19.99
www.broadwaybooks.com
www.lifelinesproverbs.com

For more information or to set up an interview with Askhari or Yvonne,
please contact Caroline Sill at 212-782-8943 or csill@randomhouse.com.

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