Mrs. Ethel Mae Lewis was born in Louisiana in the early 1940’s.  After her father was discharged from World War II the family moved to Los Angeles.  Mrs. Lewis arrived just in time to start her first year of kindergarten.  She was a baby boomer of the past, an era as youth where they had few Black heroes to emulate.

MAMA SAID
Mrs. Lewis novel is a memoir of her mother Mrs. Rosie Lee Edwards-Walker, September 3, 1920-April 13, 2015, who expired at the age of ninety-four years old.  She and four younger sisters were fortunate as children to have the experience of being raised by a very strong, unique, and Southern African-American mother.

Mrs. Lewis is also the author of Ethel Mae’s Cookbook which was published 2014.  It has so many of her grandparents, mother, and other family member’s southern recipes in it.  Her mother was a very good cook.  Other than her family she has other loves—teaching, giving, and cooking.

Mrs. Ethel Lewis has been married once and from this union had four children. Mrs. Lewis, who has survived both breast cancer and lymphoma, hopes her reading audience enjoys her book on the life of her parents and family.

Ninety-four years ago Rosie Lee Edwards-Walker was born in Cotton Valley, Louisiana on Old Man Hayes Plantation. Her parents were sharecroppers and the only way you would get a meal you would have to plant it, pick it, gather it, fetch it or go into the woods and shoot it. Living on a farm Mom learned survival skills at a very young age.

Even though she was 9 years old when food was needed on the table she could go into the woods with her older brothers, and out-hunt and out-shoot them. They were old enough to be her father, and she was a surprise baby.

Despite her challenging upbringing she was the best Mom ever to her 5 daughters.  She was sweet, the most free-hearted person I know and to everyone, give you her last, could read a person to a ‘T at first glance, and was as funny as Richard Pryor except Mama did not curse. She was only 5’ tall, however if you tried to harm her, her children or her family, she would have made Tyler Perry’s Madea look like a Nun. She has been a big influence on our life, a mentor and a friend. Mom is our ‘She-Ro.

This book is a guide to Traditional Southern cooking and other recipes of old family members, and also plenty of tips. I am more proud of this book than my other two books, so far. This book is dedicated to the old and new generation of cooks. As a senior citizen my family is growing all the time. It includes many secrets of my Southern Louisiana Mom, Mrs. Rosie Lee Walker (1920-2015), age 94 years old and my grandparents. Mom cooked for five daughters and her World War II husband, but she cooked like she was cooking for twenty people.   My southern Mom was the best cook ever. All of her recipes she cooked were so good it would make you want to slap your Mama—just a figure of speech. The parents who were born in the deep south in those 1920’s believed in obedience and respect for their elders. My Southern parents were very old school on how they raised their five daughters. And yes Mama’s cooking was mouthwatering and delicious. It was so good you would eat until you sweat.   I hope this book will take its place in your kitchen for years as in mine.