Q. Are Farrah and Justice real?
A. No. Farrah is a fictional character who is a combination of different women I knew throughout college, including myself, who often claimed to stand for so many causes (e.g. pro-blackness, feminism, etc.), but actually use those stances to mask endless insecurities.
Justice is a combination of many black men I’ve known who resist the urge to develop feelings for women because of their fear of becoming vulnerable. This is usually due to past abandonment and failed relationships with their mothers or maternal figures.
Q. It does not appear that Farrah and her mother are close. Why is that?
A. The relationship between Farrah and her mother shows the phenomenon of black women raising their daughters instead of loving them, a disparity seen across Black America and beyond. It is clear that Farrah loves Mami, due to the way she helps her, and Mami loves Farrah, which is seen when she threatens Justice. However, not once do we see Mami embrace Farrah. The sad reality is that I’ve rarely seen black women show their daughters affection or shower them with praise.
Q. Why are some of the characters mentioned many times but never appear in the book?
A. Some characters have powerful significances, but are part of the past. They are purposely not introduced to show how the past can affect how we act and react in the future.
For instance, Noni’s purpose is to show how she is the one female figure in Justice’s life who loves him unconditionally. The significance of this is so great that he compares all of his women to her. He imagines when she would be disappointed or proud of him. His friend Jessop was mentioned to show how men typically let the influence of their male confidantes direct their actions. Jessop does not need to be present in the story to show how his opinion matters to Justice. For Farrah, Abdullah is a major factor of how she chooses to deal with men and even her own family. The aftermath of that relationship permeates into every other aspect of her life. It is difficult for Farrah to build, or rebuild relationships when she still has to forgive herself and Abdullah for the past.
Q. Why make Farrah a runner? Is there any significance to her daily jog?
A. Farrah’s track-and-field days and her daily jog are significant because they show that she is running from something. When she cannot cope with something, she avoids it. When she is hurt by Justice, she does not confront him, she disappears. When Calvin attempts to reach out to her, she avoids him. When Lance demands explanations and commitments from her, she closes herself off and evades him altogether. Her daily jog is a metaphor for her “flighty” personality.
Q. Farrah’s relationship with Calvin is left hanging. Does she forgive him?
A. Calvin’s relationship with Farrah, like many father-daughter relationships, is broken. Neither of them can rewind time and recapture those years, so it’s not a matter of Farrah refusing to forgive him, but more so a matter of Farrah healing inside. She can never be “daddy’s little girl,” but she can find a point where she’s no longer angry. So the purpose of their reconciliation is not for them to rebuild a relationship. It’s for Farrah to be able to move on and view her relationship with Justice through eyes that are not skewed with “daddy issues.”
Q. Why are Lola, Shawnee and Rachael significant?
A. Lola is fun, carefree, independent and feeds Justice’s sexual appetite, but does not have the warmness to her that Justice needs in a mate. Shawnee is warm, domestic and nurturing, which would make her a good mother and a trustworthy partner, but is too dependent and lacks ambition, which someone as motivated as Justice needs in a partner. Rachael is driven and beautiful, but does not understand Justice on a deep level and has never given him the spark or connection that he needs to feel like he could spend the rest of his life with her. This is why he juggles the three of them, because not one of them is the total package. This is also why Farrah intrigues him from the start; she is attractive, sensual, smart, independent, has struggled enough in life to understand the turmoil he’s endured, and keeps him guessing.
Q. It seems that Justice loathes Freda, yet he continues to help her. Why?
A. Seeing Freda in distress allows Justice to feel like somehow he won or is ahead of the game. He feels that because she needs him, he has the upper hand. However, most individuals who grow up with absent parents have at least a tiny, minute part of them that longs to be loved and cared for by the mother or father who deserted them. Deep down, Justice longs to understand why Freda could not love him.
