According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, nearly 5.3 million incidents of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) occur each year among U.S. women ages 18 and older. These encounters result in almost 2 million injuries and 1,300 deaths nationwide each year. Simply being a woman puts you at risk for victimization, and surprisingly, being a Black woman increases the odds. Historically, the African American woman has been regarded as the epitome strength. She is the mule, able to carry the weight of the world on her back without faltering. In contemporary times, this strength has morphed into the caricature of the no-nonsense, eye rolling, finger-snapping sista’ that takes no mess from anyone. To say a Black woman can be a victim of domestic violence seems almost blasphemous. A “real” sista’ wouldn’t allow a man to beat her, right? Or better yet, an attractive, college-educated, successful and independent sista’ doesn’t fit the profile of a victim, right? Wrong.

For a myriad of reasons Black women from all walks of life and degrees of status are finding themselves on the receiving end of IPV. The very sista who seems to have it all together by day may be going home to a nightmare every night. Although we know domestic abuse happens, sometimes we have to see things to believe them and in her debut novel, Apology From One Sista’ to Another, Shywanee L. Manson paints a vivid picture of domestic abuse and her story is a true-to-life mirror that reflects the self-destructive actions we witness in others and ourselves.

Apology From One Sista’ to Another, a novel inspired by Manson’s classic poem by the same title, is a drama-filled tale of two women who get more than what they bargained for when they fall for the same man. Brian, a secretly troubled young man with misguided ambition, uses his extreme good looks and charm to pimp successful women and he hits the jackpot when he meets Rita and Sophie. Rita is a successful proprietor of a spoken word café who meets Brian through an online dating site.

She immediately loves his flawless fineness, but there are some things about him she doesn’t love—his tendency to lie, his joblessness, lack of money and eventually, his violent temper. Yet, she consciously tolerates it all. Manson does an excellent job of making it clear that Rita’s actions are quite deliberate. Rita has several moments of clarity where she ponders leaving Brian, but she can’t. Not even when she knows he is simultaneously dating Sophie.

Sophie, a bitter divorcee, believes she has every right to steal someone else’s man since someone stole hers. She thinks Brian is just what the doctor ordered to heal the hurt in her heart, that is, until he begins to hurt her in ways she could’ve never imagined. Brian does not enjoy abusing women, but his internal battles manifest in battles with his women. This destructive triangle comes to a pivotal climax when Rita has to decide if helping the woman who stole her man is more important than getting even.

The same way her poem touched women and men on a personal level, the novel Apology From One Sista’ to Another will be sure to connect with readers and spark dialogue about sisterhood, male/female relationships and of course, Intimate Partner Violence.

Read the article about her play too.