Mary Ross Smith on Literary Showcase

Mary was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the youngest of five children. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1947. Both parents were entrepreneurs. Her mother, an attractive, savvy and highly respected business woman was co- founder and owner of the prominent African American mortuary, Harrison & Ross in Los Angeles, CA. Mary spent most of her young years in the funeral home where she learned the details and complexities of that business. Because she was lighter in skin color than most of her peers, she found that her hue presented major problems even in her own community. Her young life was filled with challenges, some were life threatening, these experiences led her to seek refuge among the dead, because with them she felt safe. She talked almost daily to the dead ears, and in doing so found the inner peace needed to ward off her frequent thoughts of suicide.

Many famous personalities were a part of her life, including, Johnny Cochran, Lou Rawls, Sam Cooke, Billy Preston and even Redd Foxx! Sometimes they contributed to the drama of her experiences but in the main gave her cause for hope. They saw beyond her predicament, they saw the light within her soul.

Soul Survivordemonstrates Mary’s creative ability. Her story artfully combines the use of drama almost to the point of no return with gut tingling humor. This wonderful skill keeps the reader on edge through-out the entire book.

SOSchallenges you to look at the person behind the pulpit. There are always consequences to one’s behavior.