Motherlove - Michelle Jessamy Summary and Analysis

In "Motherlove," Michelle Jessamy uses autobiographical fiction to reveal difficult secrets from her past.

Shirley Shambly is a single, tired, overworked mother of two teenage girls. She can barely hold her head up when she gets home from her shifts at the nursing home. Fourteen-year-old Mo'Shay longs for more love and attention from her mother, but instead she is given orders for cooking, cleaning, and running errands. She resents her for not letting any joy into her life.

On the first day of summer vacation, Mo'Shay's mother has a list of items for her to get from the store as soon as she gets up in the morning. Mo'Shay grudgingly follows orders, and on the way to the store, she meets the man of her dreams, Reese. Michelle uses simile to describe the handsome boy's...