Behind the Pages: Shannon Luders Manuel Reveals the Untold Inspirations Behind The One Who Loves You
The joy came from reading how she grew from being a confused young girl who felt there was no place she truly belonged in a divided world to a young woman who pulled off all the labels affixed by others and learned to define herself.
Shannon’s story is unlike any other I’ve read. Born to a Black father and a white mother who separated when she was three, Shannon is raised by her white extended family and sees her elusive and charismatic father sporadically, often feeling let down by him. Feeling like an outsider in nearly every environment she enters, Shannon’s teen and young adult years are spent yearning to connect with her loving, but absent father and for a place to belong. She finds acceptance in the Baptist religion and becomes a born-again Christian at age fourteen. Eventually, the church and its dictates will also disappoint.