Shirell Warren-Stout

Who Is He? Shirell Warren-Stout

For the adults now and the adults yet to come, the coming of age experiences are part of life.

Throughout our life, we grapple with what is frivolous and what is important. It is of my opinion that this struggle is at its most animated in our childhood years. Both the frivolous and important (the vain and the profound) are all new to us in our youth.

In our youth, many of us find it easy to hold onto a symbol of what we perceive as important or most important in life. Although the symbols will vary, the approach is basically the same. To put it simply, the approach is catching "the brass ring" of life.

Come with me on a journey of a young city girl of Generation "X" status to discover her initial symbol of what is important to what is unchanging.

Our young city girl will not be alone in her journey. We have Aunt Wilma, Cousin Patrice, and Cousin Tiger, friends, teachers, and people we can only see from afar along for the ride.

There are the quintessential effects of the 1970s and 1980s such as 8 tracks and neon colors. Yes, this is somewhat a period piece of fiction. Nevertheless, I hope those who are before, during, and after this time period will relate to the story on some level. This story covers a little over a decade of the protagonist's life, primarily in two-year intervals.

The story, as the title suggests, is a question that the protagonist struggles to answer. Some questions in life are simple yet infinite. Our city girl's question is of the latter.

There are plenty of references to pop culture and even a few historical events. However, keep in mind the question, "Who is he?"