Push-ed

I haven't gotten to find a free copy of PUSH by Sapphire, but I have seen a few youtube videos displaying her reading excerpts of the novel. I have tried to watch the movie Precious, whose plot is based primarily from the novel written by Sapphire but directed by Lee Daniels. But the movie itself was way too much to bear witness to without shedding tears.

The novel is the story of a 16 year old girl named Clarece Precious Jones, raised in Harlem, who is pregnant, a victim of insect, illierate, who is abused. That was already hard to stomach. The novel is told from inside the head of the protagonist.

All the excerpt readings that I have heard have all opened with the part of the novel where Precious is being disruptive in her Math class due to her being unable to figure out how to identify the page that her teacher wanted her to turn to. She lands herself in the principles office due to her cursing her teacher out. From there the excerpt jumps to her mother beating her senselessly in the kitchen in which is the place she births her child. Then she reveals to the nurses that she is a victim of incest because she did not know any better.

Isn't that weird how people who have been mistreated all their lives never knew they were being mistreated? Even after someone from the outside may point it out, it still may be something that the victim is unaware of or able to believe.

When I tried to watch Precious when it came out, I couldn't. It was too painful. The point in which I stopped watching it was during the 'beat down' in the kitchen. It reminded me of a scene in my own life. Everything about the setting seemed to come alive for me. Even down to the thought process from within. It all came together for me.

Wathcing these except readings made me search for more. I learned that the novel wasn't based upon the life of one person its a compliation of stories from people. That was deep. Sapphire touched me.