Movie

‘Madea’s Family Reunion’ (2006)

The hysterical and family-oriented movie takes place in the home of a southern woman, Madea (Tyler Perry). She is a pistol-packing grandma who gets into a lot of drama as she tries to juggle her love-troubled nieces, a runaway teen who is placed under her care and planning the upcoming family reunion. She must use every tactic possible to keep the peace as secrets are revealed and tensions arise within the group. “Madea’s Family Reunion” can be found on HBO Max, Prime Video and VUDU. 

Book

‘It Ends with Us’ by Colleen Hoover (2016)

Sometimes it’s the one you love that hurts you the most. Colleen Hoover tells the story of a hard-working girl from the middle of nowhere Maine, who moved to Boston and fell in love with the handsome neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid. He’s assertive, stubborn, a little arrogant but also brilliant, sensitive and loves Lily so much. Lily’s life is coming together until a past love, Atlas Corrigan flips her world around. Suddenly, everything she has built with Ryle comes into question, maybe her life isn’t as perfect as it seemed. Buy on Amazon.com.

TV Show

‘Maid’ (2021)

This limited series showcases a realistic depiction of what recovering from emotional abuse and trying to live in America’s welfare system is like for a single mother. Based on the true story of author Stephanie Land, the audience follows a mother, Alex, as she fights to provide for and gain custody of her child after escaping from an ex-boyfriend. In just ten episodes, watch as Alex travels through an emotional journey dealing with the threat of homelessness and poverty while trying to stay strong for her daughter. “Maid” is available on Netflix. 

Album

‘Hozier’ by Hozier (2014)

This debut album is an emotional piece that focuses on personal and public problems in society. He sings of gay rights in “Take Me to Chruch” while songs like “To Be Alone” are about society’s rape culture. Other songs on the album focus on the scary yet exciting part of being in relationships. The last song on the album, in particular, is “Cherry Wine.” Running for 4 minutes, Hozier tells a story from the perspective of someone whose partner’s cold stare and bad temper are mistaken for acts of love. He sings “the way she tells me I’m hers and she is mine, open hand or closed fist would be fine, the blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine.”