It’s almost International Women’s Day and in honour of all the beautiful women in the world, I’m sharing my thoughts on The Color Purple. It was my fifth read for the year and I’m glad it was borrowed to me.

The story was told from a time when things were totally different from what we have today. It revolves around two sisters who get separated (not by choice) but remained loyal to each other over so many years of silence. The Color Purple rips the clothes right off your skin, leaving you bare and vulnerable. From the first moment you open a page, you are glued. You can’t be anywhere else but there, even when you’re not.

If you are going to read this book, be ready for loads of sadness. From unspeakable brutalities like molestation, rape, physical abuse, verbal abuse to uncertainty, searching for purpose, meaning, and a connection to make sure life is worth living. Out of all the sadness, there was a beam of faith and hope, and happiness came crawling at the very end.

Below are some of the lessons I took away from the book;

Don’t Give Up

The main thing the story teaches us is not to give up. The sisters wrote to each other even though they didn’t receive each other’s letters for so long. They went through hell especially the main character; Miss Celie and she found a way to survive through it all.

Self-Love is Important

From a young age, Miss Celie is told that she is ugly and that transcends in her brain throughout her life. When she recognized her beauty for the first time, it made her see herself in a whole new light. I’ve spoken about the importance of self-love before and how we need to love ourselves first to truly love and appreciate others. Also, the way you see and address yourself is the way others will address you. Be kind to yourself always.

Leave an Abusive Relationship

The awareness and encouragement we have now was not available back in the days and a lot of women had to endure very bad marriages. A woman was only expected to take care of the house and children and satisfy the man’s needs in the bedroom. She dared to have an opinion, she would be beaten to a pulp. The ones that dared to speak up or fight back faced worse or were thrown out. After so many years of hardship, Miss Celie finally found the strength to break away.

Show Love & Support to Others

When Miss Celie shared her problems, she found support, help and even love from someone else, another woman. She became bold enough to speak up, leave and start her own business. Sometimes, all we need is that small push to do something we’ve been thinking about.

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” ― Alice Walker, The Color Purple

The Color Purple was published in 1982 and was adapted into a film in 1985 and musical in 2005. So if you don’t want to read the book, you can as well watch the movie but it’s a book I recommend everyone reads.

Thanks for reading.

Mariam Shittu