Forever Beautiful — Suzette D. Harrison

Floretta Coleman is young, determined, and gifted. A graduate of Madame C.J. Walker's esteemed beauty school, Floretta is on the brink of a bright future with plans to explore the world after completing her studies at Oberlin College. Her long-held dreams seem within reach until one telephone call shatters everything. Her mother, Iva Rae Coleman, has died unexpectedly. Devastated, Floretta returns to the small, all-Black town founded by enslaved ancestors to lay her mother to rest and is forced to navigate the complexities of loss and family obligation. Her younger brothers need her. So does her homeless great Aunt Sis, whose misfortune was caused by a family accident. She must grapple with these responsibilities as well as her parents' unconventional relationship while being drawn to Packer Sims, a captivating horse rancher and Seminole Indian. Told against the rich tapestry of 1949 in the southern U.S., Floretta's story is one of identity, self-discovery, and acceptance. Join her journey as Floretta forges a path that is forever beautiful and uniquely her own.