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When the American Dream becomes a Black man's nightmare... |
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I couldn’t find God within my flesh so I tattooed a crucifix to my chest. I even anchored a platinum cross pendant to my heart to adore and worship like the Israelites worshiped golden calves. I was like a black Hebrew, estranged from spirituality, forsaking the promise land to kneel down to 'Bling Bling' – just like the white Christian soldiers who worship oil wells and gold mines. The proverbial American Dream was the macrocosm of my dream world – an upshot of a legacy of religion, materialism and violence.
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Welcome to the official website for Achebe Toldson’s first novel, Black Sheep! Here you’ll find information about the book’s content; speaking and signing dates; the author's biography; and instructions on placing orders. Use the toolbar on the left to navigate this site and please don't forget to sign my guestbook. Thank you for visiting!
email: itoldson@howard.edu |
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Literary Review |
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Black Sheep is a desperately needed wake up call for the lost generation of Black youths in today’s society and the professionals who are trying to save them. In addition to offering insight and intellectual nourishment, Black Sheep also gives us hope. Achebe Toldson invites the reader into a world filled with social stigmas, systemic challenges and ill fates and fortunes that are the familiar stumbling blocks for African American youth. A haunting suspense novel, Black Sheep is told through the eyes of Duce, a prominent graduate student who has become obsessed with his thesis. In the mist of his self absorption Duce loses sight of reality and begins to live through his fears and nightmares. He soon discovers that his greatest challenge will not come in the form of a research paper, but in learning how to fight the demons of his past and confronting his present fears. Toldson does a remarkable job of challenging the reader’s current perspective on life as we know it by offering hard core comparisons that help us to understand the present state of our inner city youths. The human mind is tantalized with psychological proses, biblical quotes and sometimes just the plain truth as he pushes us to the brink of reality. A modern day Harlem Renaissance writer, Toldsons’ impressive style will surely leave a mark in the literary world. Carey Yazeed, Baton Rouge Weekly Press, Co-owner of Roots Bookstore
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Reader Reviews |
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Black Sheep will provide the reader with an exceptional experience that touches on many topics relevant to people from all cultures and backgrounds… Avid readers who love stories with underlying themes related to psychology, sociology, and existential issues will not be able to put this book down... Ernest, Guidance Chair at Abington High in Pennsylvania
Black Sheep is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Even though I am female, I saw parts of me in Duce that made me dig deep into myself. I think we are all haunted by a Lucifer… many of us are not as fortunate as Duce to find and fight our demons… This book deserves national attention and should be distributed in every ghetto, substance abuse clinic, prison, and juvenile center where blacks struggle to find a reality. Thank you for writing such a deep and dedicated piece of work that did not doubt the intelligence of your readers or forget the struggle that we all still face today. Tierra, Nonprofit organization for at-risk youth associate
Black Sheep is one of the most powerful depictions about African American males I have ever read. Dr. Toldson is on his way to becoming one of the best authors of our time… I can relate to everything Duce went through: From love, to school, to the streets and the woes of a white society. The characters are so real because I have walked in their shoes… Thank you so much for writing a blueprint of guidance and perseverance. I hope your words become universal like the sun and timeless like the pages of the Bible… Lael, Graduate Student, Poet and Community Activist |
