My Road's Hard, My Life's Tough

About the Book

Wilma Williams' second novel is a powerful, explosive, thought provoking novel that will pique many emotions.

Jamila and her daughter are the innocent victims of a custom that is nefarious in nature and a government that is indifferent. They are raped and debased, in the presence of their family, by soldiers of Kangolan, their province.  Jamila is six months pregnant and her daughter is only nine years old!  The soldiers leave Jamila and her daughter near death, her husband is dead, and her son is missing!

A year later, on her way to the Retreat Center, she is accosted by rebel civilian men and again raped, beaten and left for dead, but she makes it to her destination, which is fourteen miles away!  It is then that she determines she will dedicate her life to the extinction of these roving rebel forces, the custom of circumscising the female child, and government officials who don't care.

She becomes the leader of an army of women, and is nicknamed, The Vanishing Panther, by the grateful people whom she helps.  Studying, and using guerilla tactics and strategic plans of famous war generals, Jamila and her army are a formidable force that weakens and breaks down the cultural and governmental power structure.  They seek out and receive justice when, united under one front, with one goal, they wreak havoc on their tormentors and change the way women and children are treated in Africa!

Live every fearful, exhilerating, dangerous and victorious moment with Jamila as she fights a war against customs that have held the female and children population hostage.  Cheer for her as she climbs mountains and wages through valleys to overcome for all women the second-class treatment they receive, and for all children....a chance to live and be a child!

About the Author

Wilma Williams was born in Athens, Tennessee. When she was eight months old, her mother migrated to Cleveland, Ohio with Wilma and her brother.

Raised during the depression era, her mother did day work that did not pay a lot, but she still gave Wilma and her brother the best in health care, schooling and recreational activities. Wilma was given piano lessons, voice training, and tap dancing lessons. In senior high school, Wilma graduated among the top ten in her class and won a scholarship to Howard University. She married her senior year and opted to go to Ft. Campbell to live with her husband after graduation.

After fourteen and a half years of marriage, she divorced and became a single-parent mother. She was blessed to be hired at the Post Office and thus take care of her family. While at the post office, she worked nights, went to college during the day (carrying 19 credits) and made the Dean’s list, all while taking care of four children by herself! This is Wilma’s first novel, but when she was in college she was encouraged by her english teacher to pursue writing. She has written many poems that she will make into a book in the near future. But for now she loves to write and she is already working on the sequel to this novel, Secrets of Purple Valley.

In 1977 Wilma visited Rio de Janiro, Brazil and was so awestruck by its beauty that she based this novel on its history and people, which she learned about first-hand and through extensive research. Although Secrets of Purple Valley is a fictional novel, quite a bit of the history within its pages is actual fact!