As a child, Sonsyrea Tate, affectionately known as "Ray-Ray," has no idea of the trials and tribulations awaiting her in adulthood - but she sure gets plenty of indicators: her father's devolution into a drug-dealing transient, her mother's overbearing animosity, her extended family members' overall dysfunction...the growing cloud of unhappiness in her life often leads her to imagine sunnier times and places not too far away (or so she hopes).
On top of everything else, her beloved Uncle Hussein, a cherished role model and mentor, is slowly degenerating into a veritable shell of his former self. His body ravaged by the grueling onset of Multiple Sclerosis; the protection of his gentle, loving spirit long gone from Ray-Ray's life. Watching him suffer, she finds herself racked with questions and doubts about the benevolent, fair nature of God, and - seeing the righteous so afflicted - she begins to wonder what the point is of serving Him at all.
As her life proceeds, she endures abortion, infidelity, a tumultuous marriage (even multiple instances of marital rape), and eventually the incarceration of her husband, Ron. With Ron gone, little Ray-Ray finally has the freedom of time and space to evaluate her life on her own terms and begin her transformation into the full-grown Sonsyrea. Enrolling in college, Sonsyrea then sets out on a new path, one that challenges her previous long-held beliefs and alters her vision of how her own future should take shape. The journey proves to be difficult, but one she remains determined to make for none other than the preservation of her own sanity and peace of mind.
Do Me Twice is an excellent treatise on the power of self-discovery. Much like Siddartha, Dust Tracks On A Road, and Jonathan Livingston Seagull before it, Tate's story of emotional & intellectual awakening does a commendable job of confronting the misguided teachings that typically shape our youth with the learned truth and experience of our later years. Regardless of our personal religious or philosophical leanings, it cannot be argued that we are raised to follow particular doctrines designed to guide/control our behavior and bias our thinking processes. In her narrative, Tate tells of her admirable journey in combating those very doctrines time and again as they are espoused by family, friends, and even strangers committed to challenging her newfound independence. Refusing to return to the "sleepwalking state" of her past, she bravely defends her right to think for herself - and her life becomes that much more rewarding for it.
Tate's emigration from the often confusing rigors of Islam may be a sensitive topic in the global political climate of our times, but the symbolism of her spiritual quest is an invaluable lesson for the ages. With a critical, yet open mind, by her personal example she successfully encourages the reader to be not afraid in coming to individual conclusions regarding all matters great and small. Highly recommended.
Sonsyrea Tate was raised in a ten children, devout Muslim family. Sonsyrea's mother thought that it was a woman's duty to take care of her family and that having ten children was a blessing from Allah. As Sonsyrea aged, she began to question the wisdom of having children that you can barely afford to take care of. In their household, it was the oldest daughter's duty to help with the other children and as Sonsyrea grew older this caused problems between she and her mother. As the family struggled to survive, she thought that it was unwise for her mother to not step up to the plate and get a job to help with the expenses of living; this caused their personalities to clash. Sonsyrea was determined to go to college and have a career and not have a house full of children, as did her mother. Not only was Sonsyrea dealing with the problems between her mother and herself, but Sonsyrea's favorite uncle was dying and to make matters worse her father was arrested for dealing drugs, causing the family even more financial problems. Just as most religions teach that fornication is wrong so does Islam. Dealing with her sexuality became a major problem . In order to have guilt-free sex, Sonsyrea married at a young age. She un-wisely married a man in constant trouble with the law.
I admire Sonsyrea because she did not let past mistakes ruin her life and went on to get the career that she wanted. The problem that I had with this offering was that it seemed to be written out of sequence. And she could have put in a little more excitement; this did not stop me from receiving the point of view that she was making. This book was an uncorrected proof so if she gets the chapters in better order it will be an enjoyable read.
Reviewed by Margaret Ball
APOOO BookClub
