''Back to Life'' is a 2004 novel, the first book by author

Wendy Coakley-Thompson Wendy Coakley-Thompson (nee, Wendy Cecille Thompson; born December 27, 1966), is a mainstream fiction author. Coakley-Thompson's work is part of emerging millennial contemporary African-American literature. Coakley-Thompson's fiction addresses ...

. It was nominated for the 2004 ''Romantic Times'' magazine's ''Best First Multicultural Novel'' Award. The title for the book was inspired by the

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

hit of the same name.

Plot introduction

Set in 1989

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, it tells the story of the turbulent

interracial Interracial topics include: * Interracial marriage, marriage between two people of different races ** Interracial marriage in the United States *** 2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident * Interracial adoption, placing a child of one raci ...

relationship of Lisa, who is Black, and Marc, who is Italian-American. The book also explores how incidents in New York City influence the politics and social climate of northern

Plot summary

Lisa is facing 30, is three months away from ending her acrimonious divorce from Bryan, and is constantly rebuffing her child psychologist/writer mother, who questions her daughter's life decisions. Marc, in between plugging his successful novel ''Goombah'', is a star professor at the State College of New Jersey, which is poised to become a university. Nina and Tim Simon, a mixed couple and mutual friends, attempt to bring Lisa and Marc together at a party in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

on the very night that an Italian mob in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn murders Yusuf Hawkins, a Black teen. Nina and Tim have their matchmaking work cut out for them. Lisa and Bryan constantly wrangle over community property. Lisa, by some registration fluke, winds up in Marc's class. A.J., Lisa's militant friend, drives Lisa incessantly to prove her Blackness. Marc receives word that Michele, his ex-wife, is about to remarry, forcing him to re-evaluate his feelings for her. Demonstrations and hate crimes plague the campus and stress the college's chancellor, who is fixated on seeing the college become a university. All these activities are interwoven with the charged political context of the New York City mayoral race, which ends in

Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled a wide cadre of politicians in every state behind war hero An ...

candidate

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enterin ...

beating

Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska A ...

candidate

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

to become the city's first Black mayor. When Lisa and Marc finally do become a couple, interpersonal conflicts, along with racist and prejudiced family and friends, an ambitious college chancellor, Michele, and a showdown at Lisa's job threaten the union. Lisa, stressed, crashes her car on her way home and lapses into a coma. A bedside vigil ensues. Bryan agrees to the terms of the divorce. Marc decides to take a fellowship in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. Lisa's mother rushes to her. Lisa regains consciousness. She and her mother come to an understanding. On his way out of town, Marc visits Lisa, and they negotiate their way to love. On the way to

, they marry in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Lisa is on the balcony overlooking La Jolla Cove at sunset. Marc returns home, and Lisa informs him that the EPT stick has turned blue...

Release details

*US trade paperback edition: September 2004

Kensington Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New York-based publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William"Walter Zacharius, Romance Publisher, Dies at 87,"''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender ...

*US paperback edition: June 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back To Life (Novel) 2004 American novels Novels set in New York City Novels by Wendy Coakley-Thompson Novels set in New Jersey Interracial romance novels African-American novels Fiction set in 1989 2004 debut novels Kensington Books books