Truth Like Oil
Truth Like Oil
By Connie Biewald
Released May 18, 2021
Truth Like Oil, is the impactful story of two mothers in Boston, Massachusetts: Nadine Antoine, a Haitian-American nurses' aide, and Hazel Watkins, a white cantankerous nonagenarian felled by a stroke who struggles with her own helplessness and dependency. When Nadine's youngest son, Chance, is arrested, and her eldest son, Henry, the only Black undergraduate on a scholarship at his college, threatens to quit to help the family, Nadine wrestles with how much of her sons' parentage she is willing to reveal to her boys. Meanwhile, Chance's basketball coach, Gary, who is also Hazel's spoiled and neglectful son, turns up in court to defend the boy. Suddenly, while fighting for her sons' futures, Nadine must contend with Gary's intentions and his romantic overtures.
Connie Biewald has been writing stories in an effort to explore human relationships since she was five years old. She has been a teacher for more than 40 years, sharing her love of reading and writing with homeschoolers and hundreds of students in public and private schools in the US and Haiti. For the past thirty-five years she has been both a librarian and a Growth Education resource person at the Fayerweather Street School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In her Growth Ed role, Connie works with children, parents and other teachers exploring the essential topics of human development-self esteem, the use and misuse of power, altruism and community service, sexuality, appreciation and understanding of differences. This work is reflected in her writing. She is the grateful recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council artist grant, a PEN New England Discovery Award and numerous residencies.
