Every Woman Needs A Wife
By: Naleighna Kai
Published by: Strebor Books International
by: Ccep
dews_ccep@yahoo.com
In “Every Woman Needs A Wife,” Naleighna Kai paints an incredible portrait of a woman who takes her vows seriously and gives a whole new meaning to the term “fifty-fifty.”
Kai’s story centers on the life of Brandi Spencer, an African American wife and mother. When Brandi walks into a home that her business finances, her husband’s infidelity is confirmed. Not only has Vernon Spencer been sleeping with a white glamazon, but was even engaged to her! He denies an affair, claiming that Tanya is merely a client, but the look on the mistress’s face when Brandi appears says it all-they’ve both been misled.
Tanya Kaufman has a deep family secret that feeds her insecurities and fuels her search for acceptance. Running out of options, she seriously takes it into consideration when Brandi insists that she come live in the Spencer home.
Vernon Spencer can’t believe his wife even mentions taking his mistress in as some type of indentured servant. But when Tanya shows up at his home during his anniversary party and is paraded around by Brandi, he knows for sure that things will only get worse for him.
As Brandi does everything in her power to make sure that the mistress stays in her home, Vernon uses just as much force to try and get her out so he can return home. Caught in the middle, Tanya willingly signs a contract that deems her Brandi’s “wife” for as long as she has been Vernon’s mistress.
In Every Woman Needs A Wife, Naleighna Kai paints an incredible portrait of a woman who takes her vows seriously and gives a whole new meaning to the term “fifty-fifty.”
Initially, I was skeptical about reading this book because of the title. Quite frankly, I was growing tired of reading the same story by another author. But something about the cover stood out to me as I was waiting to check out at the Urban Knowledge Bookstore in Mondawmin Mall. The ladies there never steer me wrong in a reading selection, so I purchased “Every Woman Needs A Wife” along with another book and went home.
The irony of the first line of the first chapter grabbed me in a way I hadn’t expected. “I could kill both of you,” she said softly. Such a powerful statement with such little force seemingly behind it. Once I got to the end of the chapter, I knew this was a book I would be telling people about.
The storyline moves slowly but in a way, each day would take up four chapters and at the end I was mad that day was over. Each of the three main characters have such depth to them and there’s such a huge amount of controversy surrounding the Spencers, their business and their children that I couldn’t decide who to be mad at or feel sorrier for. Brandi, Tanya and Vernon each have their own issues to deal with and wounds to heal, but I love the fact that they need each other to do so.
At first, I thought Brandi was crazy for saying she deserved to have Tanya as a wife for as long as her husband had her as a mistress and I thought Tanya was even crazier for taking her up on the offer. However, the more I read and thought about it, the more I saw how their situation paralleled my own life.
I learned that in every great novel we can find a little piece of ourselves.
At the time I was reading this book, I was an in-home babysitter for three boys. I was responsible for making sure they ate, did their school work and were safe while their parents worked. When Friday afternoon came and their mother handed me my pay for the week, I realized that in some ways I played the role of Tanya while she, like Brandi, worked. Like the relationship between the two women in the book, the boys’ mother also became my friend and encouraged me to pursue my dreams.
So, not only did I get an interesting story that made me laugh, cry and wish I could pull the characters into the tight embrace that we all needed, I learned that in every great novel we can find a little piece of ourselves.
“Every Woman Needs A Wife” is a story that you will love from the acknowledgements to the author’s bio. After three hundred eighty-three pages, I was sad to see my new friends go. And now, I think I’ll go reunite with them…