480 Codorus Street - Surviving Unpredictability

480 Codorus Street is the first book in a series of three books. it is an autobiography of the trials and tribulations of a young negro girl growing up in York, Pennsylvania in the 1940 – 1960s. This book covers a period of life from Sandra’s birth to becoming a young adult. It is a story of Sandra’s own life and of her courage and heroism. It tells the story of how life was during that time period. This is not a book of fiction but a book to challenge those who may be at their lowest point and in their deepest place in life from domestic violence, sexual assault, and maybe even the death of a loved one. Abuse of women and children was almost the norm in some black neighborhoods. Men felt that they owned their wives and children; they were property to do with as they pleased. The police did not intervene. The victims had no defense.

Sandra shares in this book her hidden scars with the reader. She looks back and reflects upon her life, the assumptions she made about her life, and her family. How does one draw the line between punishment and abuse, forgiveness and mercy, justice and fairness? Sandra’s struggles to forgive her father are overwhelming to the point that when she hears his name, her anger comes to the forefront of her deepest mental and psychological memories, which forces her to relive the past abuse that happened at 480 Codorus Street, York, Pennsylvania in the 1950s.

Sandra L. Kearse-Stockton