National bestselling author of the novels Soul Food and Web of Deception, LaJoyce Brookshire tells a true story more shattering than any work of fiction. It’s her story. A memoir of courage in the face of a troubled relationship and a terrifying illness. A chronicle of faith under fire.
Imagine the joy of being swept away by your very own Prince Charming and the excitement of marrying him. Imagine starting a life together. Imagine discovering a side of him that you never knew existed—a controlling and explosive side. Imagine watching him slowly, inexplicably, deteriorate before your eyes. Imagine your reaction as his doctors tell you “He has AIDS.â€
That was the reality for LaJoyce Brookshire, and in this astoundingly moving and page-turning memoir, she tells the full story of her marriage to her first husband, who knew he was HIV positive at the time they wed, but he kept this information hidden from her—until his body betrayed him.
How would you react? What would you do? Contemplate murder? Divorce? Live in denial? Turn to God?
LaJoyce chose God in the face of her husband’s health crisis—and every challenge life has presented. With God beside her at all times, LaJoyce faced the deadly secret that had been kept under wraps by her husband—and by his family, who knew of his condition but revealed nothing. She stayed by his side, ultimately changing his diapers and coordinating his care, until the end.
Faith Under Fire is more than a story of a marriage tainted by lies— it is a capsule portrait of the specter of AIDS facing African-American women today, and how fear, ignorance, and secrets perpetuate the disease. In a poignant narrative that displays her gutsy humor and vibrant spirit, LaJoyce Brookshire shares her faith in all of its richness. Her devotion is a living testament to relying on God’s strength through any ordeal and confirmation that Truth is all we have to believe in, every day of our lives.
LaJOYCE BROOKSHIRE is the bestselling author of the novels Soul Food and Web of Deception, and has contributed essays to Souls of My Sisters and Ghettover Girls. An ordained minister, a doctor of naturopathy, and a master herbalist, she lives in Pennsylvania with her family.
a
