cover image Friends, Lovers, and Soul Mates: A Guide to Better Relationships Between Black Men and Women

Friends, Lovers, and Soul Mates: A Guide to Better Relationships Between Black Men and Women

Darlene Powell Hopson, Derek Hopson. Simon & Schuster, $19.5 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-671-76837-9

Drawing on their own eight-year marriage, the psychotherapist authors offer what they claim is the first self-help guide to African American relationships, complete with skill-building exercises. With candor and insight, they discuss the fear of intimacy that can plague black men and women, aggravated by problems of ethnic--and, for women, gender--identity. The Hopsons discuss the qualities that African Americans purportedly seek in an ideal mate, but they caution that developing a sense of one's own identity and self-esteem are the first steps in finding that person. An Afrocentric view of the world with its pride in black culture can serve as a source of inspiration, racial identity and empowerment, stress the authors. They also cite communication as the key to dealing successfully in a relationship with issues like money, family, infidelity and spirituality. (Apr.)