Bennett College for Women News January 23, 2013 Road to Recovery Leads Bennett Professor to Upcoming Book Launch >From turbulent heartache to victorious recovery, Dr. Giselle Jones-Jones, department chair of English and Foreign Languages, has invested seven years into the completion of her book Through Zora's Eyes: Modern Insight Into a Timeless Vision. A public book release, signing and reading of this scholarly monograph will be held Monday, February 4, 2013 from 5:00p.m.--7:00p.m. in the Steele Hall Art Gallery on the campus of Bennett College. The book can be purchased for $14.95. Based on the life of Zora Neale Hurston, famed African American author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, the book describes the life of this powerful woman who managed to find "self-actualization in the midst of her struggles." For Dr. Jones-Jones, the process of completing this work was more than just studying the life of a literary genius; it was also a journey of overcoming her own personal struggles. Projected to graduate with her doctorate in May of 2003, the author's plans were halted when she delivered a stillborn child in 2002. "...the day I lost my son was the day I lost my muse. I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't concentrate long enough to write anything. There was nothing stirring in my soul; I was angry with God, myself and anyone who tried to console me..." she said. Dr. Jones-Jones admits that she wasn't able to overcome the state of depression until she reestablished her peace with God. The promise of a new baby son followed. "A sense of hope was restored. My muse returned, and not only did it open up, it poured out. What normally takes doctoral candidates perhaps a year or two years to accomplish, I wrote my dissertation in only four months," she added. The dissertation was entitled More Than a "State of Being" -The Process of Actualizing Self in the Midst of Limitations and Contradictions: Establishing a Pedagogy of Self-Actualization and Survival Through Zora's Eyes. Years following her May 2005 doctoral graduation, Dr. Jones-Jones began to receive praise for the work, which is now housed in the Jackson library of UNCG. From there, she was invited to write a chapter for "The Inside Light": Critical Essays on Zora Neale Hurston, edited by noted Hurston scholar, Dr. Deborah Plant. "After the publication of that chapter, I was overcome with a sense of confirmation that the pain of my struggle in writing was no longer in vain; I had to publish this work and share with others my perspective on how Zora managed to acquire self-actualization in the midst of her struggles," she said. Dr. Jones-Jones holds a Ph.D. from UNCG, a MA from NC A&T, and a BA from Spelman College. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-520-0593 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.