I was saddened when I heard that Ntozake Shange died recently (Oct 28, 2018). I remember reading  Sassafrass Cypress and Indigo  over 20 years ago.  My most vivid memory of the book is when one of the main characters gets her period and her mother celebrates it with a ritual bath.  It was  so affirming and uplifting, and still speaks to me after all these years.

I am going to go back and re-read it now, although with For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide /When the Rainbow is Enuf. What we need now is art like this that uplifts people and connects people in the highest expression of their spirit.