Mama Summary

Mama Mama is the story of a struggling mother of five named Mildred Peacock. Mildred is a tough, funny, feisty black woman, hailing from a small town called Point Haven. Her children, Freda, Money, Bootsey, Angel, and Doll seem accustomed to the unstable, sometimes violent life Mildred leads. The story tells of both the good and bad times within the lives of Mildred and her children. The story takes you from the time her children are in diapers to the first time they step on a college campus. Mama is a story that will not only warm your heart but will awaken your mind and turn your life around. The story begins with Mildred contemplating what she should do about her violent husband, Crook. Crook is a very jealous, very vulgar man. Mildred has gained many bruises from the times Crook has hurt her. For every amount of pain, or annoyance Mildred experiences, she takes a nerve pill; which equals a lot of nerve pills. This small habit, over the years, has slowly began to turn into an addiction for Mildred. This addiction to nerve pills goes hand-in-hand with alcohol, in Mildred's life. However, Mildred quickly comes to realization about her addiction and decides to do something about it. Eventually, she chooses to leave her husband of the time, Crook. After leaving Crook, life seems to get harder and harder for Mildred. She loses her job, and no matter what she does, cannot find a new one. So, she decides to go back to work she thought she'd never go back to-a maid. However, even with the money Mildred collected from work as a maid, it still wasn't enough to pay her bills. So, she turned to the one man she knew she could depend on-her dad. Mildred's father, Buster, is one of her favorite people, not only because he gives her money whenever she needs it, but because he's proved himself as a man she can trust and confide in. Buster is married to a woman whom Mildred whole heartedly referred

to as Ms. Acquilla. Ever since Buster married her, it seemed like Mildred had to do more and more for him; when it should have been the exact opposite. Mildred and Acquilla couldn't stand each other. After years of taking care of her family on her own, Mildred thought it was time for her to find help in a man. She went through make-up's and break-up's with many different men; until she found one she thought could work- Spooky Cooper. Spooky Cooper was married, but Mildred didn't care. She liked him more and more everyday that passed. One day, Spooky asked Mildred to come to Niagra Falls with him on vacation. Freda, Mildred's first daughter,was fourteen now, so she was old enough to watch the kids and the house while Mildred was away. While Mildred was away, Deadman, a guy who came around the house now and then to repair anything that needed to be fixed, came over while Freda was alone. He raped her. Freda was so afraid of what people would say or do, she didn't tell anyone what had happened. After Spooky had ended the affair with Mildred, she returned home. Months later, Mildred found out about the rape through a drunk Deadman, so she shot him in the stomach with a .38 pistol. Years later, the children were all looking a lot older, and so was Mildred. Freda was a senior in high school, Money was a freshman, Bootsey was in the eighth grade, Angel was in the sixth grade, and Doll was in the fifth. Freda was planning to move to L.A. For college after she graduated. Mildred tried to act enthusiastic when Freda had told her her plans, but she knew in her heart she really didn't want her to go.

When the day came, Buster drove Mildred and Freda to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. As Mildred watched her first child walk down the long hallway, alone, she couldn't move. Even when Buster nudged her to come on, she wouldn't budge. She had an empty mind. The only thing she did know was that her first baby was gone.

Two years later, Freda returned home from L.A. to visit her family. She found that Money had been in jail for stealing a lawn mower, which he planned on selling to get money for heroin. When Freda went to visit Money the next day, she tried to convince him to stop what he was doing but he refused to listen. He had dropped out of school when he had only one year left, and now, to Freda, his life was on a down-hill path.

The next day, Mildred stopped Freda as she was about to go into the bathroom to take a shower. "Freda", she said, "I been meanin to tell you how much I like what you've done to your eyebrows. Do you think you could do mine like that"? "Sure, Mama", Freda answered," I'll do them when I get out of the shower". "Okay,baby". When Freda got out of the shower and put her clothes on, she did what she said she would and called Mildred over so that she could do her eyebrows. Mildred sat down slowly into a designated chair, and Freda moisturized her eyebrows with Vaseline. As she began to shape Mildred's eyebrows, they caught each others eyes, and they smiled as Freda continued until she finished. "Thank you, Freda", Mildred said. "You're welcome". Mildred wanted to give Freda a hug, but she didn't know how Freda would react. So, she didn't.

When it was time for Freda to return home to L.A., she invited Mildred to come along with her. Of course, Mildred agreed; she needed a little time away from home to clear her mind. While in L.A., Mildred went to spas, she went swimming, she went to clubs, and she spent time with her daughter. Freda had to have done Mildred's eyebrows at least three times during the two weeks she was there. Mildred liked L.A. so much, she decided she wanted to move there.

When Mildred made the announcement that they were moving, no one was happy but Freda. No one wanted to leave their friends or their social lives behind. That's when Bootsey, now a junior, made an announcement of her own. Bootsey told Mildred she was staying behind in Point Haven to marry her current boyfriend, David. Mildred wasn't happy, but she liked David, so she gave Bootsey her blessing. However, she told Bootsey that if she wanted her to be there, they would have to have the wedding before Labor Day.

Months later, Bootsey told Mildred that she wanted to get married on Labor Day, so regretfully, Mildred had to tell Bootsey she couldn't be there. Bootsey understood. While she pulled away from her old home, on her way to L.A., with the other children, Mildred said, softly, to herself, "that's two". She had lost another child.

After almost a year in L.A., everyone loved it. Everyone except for Money. Money had told Freda he couldn't stand it there. So, he caught a bus straight back to Point Haven. "Two babies left",