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Cover of Crossing Over Jordan
Book details

Crossing Over Jordan

by Linda Beatrice Brown

Published 1996290 pagesISBN 978-0-3454-0231-8

Georgia McCloud lives to see emancipation. Her daughter Sadie discovers that, though she might be free, she is powerless to break with a man who abuses her. At the center of their communal pain is Sadie's intelligent, beautiful, ambitious daughter Story, who wants more from life than she's been led to expect. Her uncompromising desire for "safety" corrupts Story to her very soul, dooming her to wander an emotional desert, repressed, rigid, enslaved to propriety. Her daughter Hermine must then challenge the lie that life is hardship. But can Hermine finally break the cycle of oppression that has chained the women of her family? Can she alone cross over Jordan? . Reminiscent of the early work of Alice Walker and Gloria Naylor, Crossing Over Jordan deftly explores the themes of the mother-daughter relationship, the emotional scars left by history, the struggle to be authentic in the throes of great personal pain, and the transforming power of love. Linda Beatrice Brown has a wise, moving new voice that, once heard, must be embraced.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Romance, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.

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Full BookenDeX details

What the reading experience may hold

A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.

Themes to notice

Romance · Fiction

Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.

Content notes

Catalog signals suggest abuse or trauma. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.

These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.

Reading experience

Balanced tone · Measured pace

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Who it may suit

A good fit if…

Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.

At a glance

This book's DNA

A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.

ToneBalanced
LuminousDark

This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.

No plot details

Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc

A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.

Spoiler-free
12345
PeakRelative emotional intensity
Crossing Over JordanLinda Beatrice Brown
Powerful5/5

This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.

Before you choose

A quick reading snapshot

Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.

Reading lengthA standard-length read290 pages in this edition
Publication eraModernFirst published or edition dated 1996
Primary categoryRomanceAlso cataloged under Fiction
ISBN-13
978-0-3454-0231-8
Language
English
Edition record
OL9601244M
BookenDeX editorial lens

A more thoughtful way into this book

This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.

Good to know

A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.

Begin with its place in Romance, then notice where the book resists that label.

Try this reading approach

Read for connection, not completion.

Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.

Three questions to carry with you

  1. What must each character learn before the relationship can become believable?
  2. How do work, family, friendship, or identity shape the central relationship?
  3. Does the emotional resolution feel earned by the choices that came before it?

Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.