Taste of Insanity by Morenike'

Taste of Insanity  by Morenike'

Egypt Roberts is privileged, spoiled, and living the good life afforded to her by her parents and fiancée. Still living with her mother and father at the age of 24, Egypt wants for nothing and is cared for by her childhood nanny and her father's wealth. But after the death of her nanny, the lies that crafted her perfect life unravel and cause Egypt's mental and emotional breakdown. Meet Andrea Atkins, a young girl with a bright future; although her life is a living hell thanks to a mother with substance abuse issues she has hopes of escaping her life after her high school graduation. But before she can make her escape, Andrea's world comes crashing down after a business transaction gone wrong is interrupted by her mother. Andrea's life is flipped upside down and she retreats into silence; protecting the secret of the night her mother was killed.

Blakely Hammond is a lost and confused soul with no knowledge of her past or who she is due to suppressed memories. A graduate student with dreams of becoming an author and college professor, she is never able to stay on the straight and narrow because of her best friends' schemes. After a scheme gone wrong Blakely is landed in jail for a crime she doesn't remember committing and a best friend that has gone M.I.A.

Tragic events lead Egypt, Andrea, and Blakely to the Rose Program at the Rosa Lee Institution for Women and Children where they discover things about themselves and their lives that they never knew were possible. Through individual and group sessions in the Rose Ward, Egypt, Andrea, and Blakely create bonds with one another and the staff while getting a sample of what crazy tastes like...


Excerpt from Taste of Insanity

"My desert flower, what are you doing here?! Evelyn and Duke would have a fit child." I could care less about what Evelyn and Duke thought as of this morning; I was just happy to see Isabella. Here I was, 24 years old, and my parents had kept a secret from me like I was a little girl on the verge of finding out that Santa Claus wasn't real. “Oh Bella, I'm just happy to see you, Mother and Father don't have to know I was here. You look great, not sick at all, are you sure this is really a hospice?" She chuckled at my child like ways. "Egypt this place is way too expensive for my taste you know but Duke and Evelyn only want the best; it's more like a recovery center for the rich and famous, I'm the only hospice patient here." I was pleased that she was being adequately attended to. "Can we go to your room and talk?" She hesitated as though I had come to sit in the lobby and then leave. No, I wanted answers and I was not leaving until I got them. "Sure let's take the elevator, I'm on the top floor; I have a beautiful view of the city."

Isabella's room was magnificent. The Memphis skyline was intriguing. Bella dismissed her nurse so we would have privacy. She motioned for me to sit down and the questions began to flow like a water fountain, "Bella how long have you been here, from the looks of it you couldn't have just moved in today."
           
"Bella tell me what's going on, I'm not leaving until you do." She shifted in her seat and grabbed a glass of water and took two pills. "Well if you feel that you're ready I'm going to tell you everything because you deserve to know. My days are numbered and I have wanted to tell you for so long the truth about everything but Evelyn wasn't having it. Evelyn didn't want you to know until after I died, but I wasn't falling for that; I could be gone tomorrow and you still wouldn't know the truth!" She kept going on and on venting about Mother; I didn't understand. “Bella, be more specific, the truth about what?"
          
"Oh Lord, I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me. A long time ago, I fell in love with this man, so much I would have given up my life for him. He was an associate at the firm I was a receptionist at; we didn't want anybody to know we were involved but it was obvious because of the way he doted on me. He was handsome and all the women in the office wanted him, even the big boss' daughter. That girl hated me but she loved this man just like me. They had dated back in college and she never got over him. I turned up pregnant but never told anyone in the office it was his child. The boss' daughter found out about it and she threatened to ruin his good name if he didn't get rid of me and get back with her. I wasn't giving up my baby but he thought his career was more important than me and the baby so he chose her. I was devastated and with that and the baby coming I lost my job from the stress. I had nowhere to go and he and his new bride had no choice but to take me and the baby in. She told him that I could be my baby's nanny and that they would adopt my daughter since she couldn't have any children of her own. It was my only security so I agreed on the terms that after my child graduated from high school, she'd know I was her mother. But she was never told about me."
           
I felt sorry for Bella, she was dying and her only child had no idea. "But Bella you still have time to find your daughter, you know Mommy and Daddy will help you, I will too." She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and smiled, "child you got all the book sense in the world but not a lick of common sense. Egypt you are my daughter, don't you understand? All this time Evelyn has been trying to keep me from you, making me move out after you left for college; your father was falling in love with me all over again and we got to watch our daughter grow up together all the while you thinking I'm your nanny." My head began to spin and after Bella connected her story to my life all I remembered was screaming and hitting the floor.

(  Story Continues...  ) 

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About the Author
Morenike` is a native of Jackson, Mississippi. She attended Provine High School and graduated from Jackson State University with a Bachelor's in English. Continuing her education, Morenike’ is currently a graduate student at Jackson State University pursuing a M.A. in English. Morenike’ has been writing short stories and poems since she was a young girl in elementary school. Her passion for reading and writing stemmed from her early introduction to reading from her parents. She states that, "reading was very important in my home, my parents’ relationship started from the discussion of a book, reading created my family."

Her goals are to one day become a world-renowned novelist, focusing on African American Fiction, poems, and short stories that reflect the African American community. Her latest work includes the poem and short film, "Shoe-icide" and the anticipated release of two novels, Loose Ends & Taste of Insanity from Pulse Publishing and La Femme Fatale Publishing, respectively.

Taste of Insanity by Morenike'
Available April 1, 2013

ISBN-10: 0988861518
ISBN-13: 978-0988861510
http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Insanity-Morenike/dp/0988861518