Mother to Son - by Jasmine L Holmes (Hardcover)

About the Book

"I know this wondrous little person has the potential to change the world--and I want him to know it too." In this collection of powerful letters to her young son, Jasmine Holmes shares about her journey as an African American Christian and what she wants her son to know as he grows and approaches the world as a black man.

Book Synopsis

Christianity Today Book Award

"Wynn is my son. No little boy could be more loved by his parents. Inquisitive, fiercely affectionate, staunchly opinionated, he sees the world through eyes of wonder and has yet to become jaded by society's cruelty. I know he'll grow up with stories of having been made to feel 'other' because of the color of his skin. I want to teach him that, though life's unfair, he still has incomparable value in the eyes of his heavenly Father. I know this wondrous little person has the potential to change the world--and I want him to know it too."

In Mother to Son, Jasmine Holmes shares a series of powerful letters to her young son. These are about her journey as an African American Christian and what she wants her son to know as he grows and approaches the world as a black man. Holmes deals head-on with issues ranging from discipleship and marriage to biblical justice. She invites us to read over her shoulder as she reminds Wynn that his identity is firmly planted in the person and work of Jesus Christ, even when the topic is one as emotionally charged as race in America.

Review Quotes

"As I read Mother to Son, I couldn't help but think of the many African American mothers who will read and be able to take a deep, long breath and say, 'I am not alone.' This book is rich in theological and foundational truth about God and about who we all are because of God. Yes, it's for a mother and son, but anyone who reads will benefit. A treasure of a book."

--Trillia Newbell, author of Sacred Endurance and God's Very Good Idea

"Jasmine Holmes's Mother to Son is written for a far larger audience than just her own children; she has delivered a literary benediction to grace our bookshelves, challenge our earthly cultures, strengthen our feeble hearts, and point us toward lasting hope."

--K. A. Ellis, Cannada Fellow and Director, the Center for the Study of the Bible and Ethnicity at Reformed Theological Seminary, Atlanta

"This sincere, personal account will appeal to parents and church leaders interested in the intersection of social justice and religion. Recommended for all libraries."

--Starred Review, Library Journal, Ray Arnett, March 2020

"Mother to Son is more than a collection of heartfelt letters of a young mother to her new son. Mother to Son is a missive to America and to the church about what it looks like to hope, to fear, to long, to risk, and to love--all while instilling in ourselves and in those we love and are called to lead both a sense of belonging in the present and a call to invest in a future of greater flourishing for us all."

--Karen Swallow Prior, author of On Reading Well and Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More--Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist

About the Author

Jasmine L. Holmes has written for The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, Fathom Mag, Christianity Today, and The Witness. She is also a contributing author for Identity Theft: Reclaiming the Truth of Our Identity in Christ and His Testimonies, My Heritage: Women of Color on the Word of God. She teaches humanities in a classical Christian school in Jackson, Mississippi, where she and her husband, Phillip, are parenting two young sons.