Raymond's Daughters

About the Book

Daphne Little is preparing to attend the funeral of the father she never knew. Initially, she didn’t have a clue as to why she was even going. Other than the fact that her mother requested it. Daphne was raised by her mother and stepfather and accidentally became aware of Raymond Johnson’s existence in her teens. They met briefly during her freshman year in college but never developed any type of relationship. Now her biological father is dead and she’s curious. Daphne wants to know more about this man and she thinks she can get answers and perhaps gain some closure by going to the funeral. Daphne’s intention is not to cause any drama. She believes that since her birth was the product of an extra-marital affair between Raymond and her mother that her existence is probably not common knowledge. She plans to slip in and out virtually undetected.

Angela Johnson’s relationship with her father Raymond ended when he walked out on her mother and her three brothers. Attending his funeral is a formality. In order to support her brothers and her half-sister Kya she begrudgingly attends. In Angela’s eyes there was no love lost between her and Raymond – he made his decision years ago and she has dealt with it the best way she knows how – avoidance. Truthfully, it was difficult for her to avoid the fact that he was unfaithful to her mother and produced another child and ultimately left her mother and began a new family. Angela helplessly watched her mother slowly die from depression and alcohol abuse and these are images that haunt her regularly.

For Kya Jackson, losing her father was like losing a part of herself. Kya is the only child of Raymond’s second marriage and as she prepares for his funeral she is experiencing sadness that she has never known. She is more than eight months pregnant with her own first child and her husband, Otis, is in the military and overseas. Now that her father is gone she has an overwhelming desire to connect with the sister she doesn’t know – Daphne. Raymond told Kya all about the mistakes of his past and up until now Kya was content to leave it in the past. She has never discussed Daphne with Angela – Kya doesn’t even know if Angela is aware that Raymond had another daughter. Kya is determined to bring everything out in the open and once the funeral is over she plans to contact Daphne and perhaps set up a meeting.

These are Raymond’s daughters. They each have very different interpretations of who the man was because their separate and unequal relationships with him. Angela sees him as a cheating husband and irresponsible father. Daphne sees a man who once loved her mother, but since life is what it is – they couldn’t do anything about that love and they went their separate ways. Kya sees her Daddy. Her hero. In her eyes he was a loving and gentle man who was always there for her no matter what.

Raymond Johnson was an ordinary man who made some mistakes. Late in life he realized the ramifications of these mistakes and made futile attempts to make things right. His dying wish was for his children to forgive him and to perhaps come together and be a family.

About the Author

Michele Rene Matthews is one of seven children and was raised in New London, Connecticut. She is an essayist and poet and her work has been published in the Journal of Intergroup Relations and How We Got Over: Testimonies of Faith, Hope and Courage (Reyomi Publishing, June 2003). While her debut novel Raymond’s Daughters is not her first published work, it is the most meaningful to her and represents a personal triumph. Michele works full-time as a Sr. Contract Administrator in Virginia Beach where she also resides with her two children, Jordan and Kala.