A Family Portrait

A Family Portrait is contemporary adult literature--the sequel to Other Side, published in 2016. It is a story about Jordan Baros, a young African American attorney full of ambition and ability. In spite of his accomplishments, both personal and professional, there also were destructive impulses that led to his downfall. The personal failing included family estrangement, sex and drug addiction. This novel represents a continuation of Jordan's arc. However, it is no longer a story about his troubled lifestyle but is one of hope through personal growth, perseverance and wisdom. Jordan is an older man, more than two decades since the first novel. His issues are not his alone but those of his immediate and extended family. As the patriarch he is at the center of moments that engulf the family including his mother's deteriorating physical and mental health and the emotional and practical support he shares with his sister. Jordan's sister Wanda, who played a prominent role in the first novel, struggles with guilt and responsibility of her mother's care as well as a personal need as a middle-aged professional woman. She is seeking true love and hopes to adopt a child. Both of her needs are satisfied when she meets a successful dentist at a friend's party and travels with him, some six months later, to Cape Town, South Africa to adopt a mixed-race African baby. The intrigue continues as Jordan manages the chaos in pursuit of order when one son, who has been away from the family for years, returns seeking to reenter the fold. A younger son is dealing with his own issues of self-esteem and marital discord that unfolds in a surprising case of infidelity and betrayal by his wife--it is suspenseful and unexpected. His redemption and circle of life are challenged. How he emerges as a patriarch, responsible and selfless individual from when we first met him is one of the themes at the heart of this story.