Shadows of the Ivory
Shadows of the Ivory – a memoir
A life-quest stirred by the search for a mother lost half a world away. A real-life heroine’s journey and a poignant coming-of-age across three continents.
A baby, severed from her mother in a poor African village, is brought to cosmopolitan France, only to suffer the loss of her father. Adopted by her aunt and her irascible husband, Maryline finds solace in athleticism. After bravely forging her own path, she finds love, settling in the U.S.A.
A brilliant portrait of a determined and passionate woman, the mother she yearned for, and her odyssey to reclaim Womanhood, Motherhood, Faith, and Self.
Dr. Maya Angelou wrote, “Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity,” I wish to follow Dr. Angelou’s advice, and create The Therese Yei Meledje Foundation to honor my African Mother, and to help my African village, Vieux-Badien, with the sales of the memoir, to build a hospital, a new school, and a sport facility.
Shadows of the Ivory also available for purchase:
Amazon Reviews
★★★★★
Praise for Shadows of the Ivory
“Shadows of the Ivory”, by author Maryline Anna Roux, is a bravely written autobiography. Her true-life story is penned in the intimate style of personal diary – compelling and easy to read. Born to a poor teenage single mother in West Africa, Maryline’s life was a struggle from the start. Her long journey leads us full circle, as journeys often do.
As we all do, she had suffering in her life, but hers included several major personal tragedies, which hammered out and tempered her indomitable spirit like a blade. The book is an open and honest account of her life journey, beginning in Ivory Coast, continuing “solo” to France as a small child, where she fought for acceptance into young adulthood, and then on to America as a survivor and thriver with a family of her own. She details her growing up in a very dysfunctional adoptive family, going “against the grain” as the only mixed-race kid in town, standing up to bullies young and old.
Readers will be drawn in by her frank introspection. With restraint and humility, she analyses how over the decades she lifted herself up by her own bootstraps to become an educated professional, a loving wife and mother, a world-class athlete, and a healer and teacher in her own right. As a tale of self-actualization which her audience will relate to on various levels, Ms. Roux defines who she really is in this life; and defines and finds her place in this world. She is inspirational! We should all be so lucky. We should all be so tough. We could all follow her leadership toward courage, generosity, and compassion. Our lives and the world would be better for it. Help yourself; read the book!
Submitted with Great Admiration,
Captain Scott F.
American mariner, aviator, warrior (retired)
★★★★★
A Beautiful Story
After reading Shadows of the Ivory, it leaves me with a different perspective on everyone’s life around me. You don’t know what’s going on, you don’t know what they’ve been through. This book had me locked in from the start, making it easy to imagine what Maryline’s life was like. This book is an incredible story of her journey to find peace within herself, always searching for ways to challenge herself even when doubt crept into her mind. Her only choice was to give it a shot and prove herself wrong; she had nothing to lose. What makes this book unique is the fact that there are millions of people who have a story. Reading this may give others the courage to speak out. If she can, you can.
– Tevenn Roux
★★★★★
A Heartfelt Journey
Incredibly beautiful and powerful. A testament to what the spirit can endure. I grabbed my chest with the twist and cried with and for the humanity. Thank you Maryline for putting your soul to the page. I couldn’t put it down.
– Misty
★★★★★
A Great Read!
Maryline’s story drew me in right from the beginning. I couldn’t put it down. Her writing is vivid, and her descriptions made me feel that I was right there alongside her in her life journey. I wish I had been because I would have hugged that little baby that went through so much. I love memoirs because I enjoy not only reading about the facts of people’s lives but also how they thought and felt about the events they lived through. Also, in the personal, you can always find the universal. We can all learn from each other’s journeys and thought processes, and I learned a lot from Maryline. Her determination, passion, and deep connection to soul are undeniable and inspirational.
– Galispa
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