5The Secret Recipes of A Kept Woman enlightens us with recipes for the mind, body and soul for daily living, with a few Soul Food Sweet Recipes that were passed down from my Grandma Bessie to my mom Luberda and on to me. Life's lessons taught me to enjoy my passion of cooking and being creative when life gave me lemons. This book reveals that early on my lemons were a lack of confidence, low self-esteem, a blended family followed by widowhood. It is my pleasure to share my life before and after widowhood to all generations in hopes that my Secret Recipes will demonstrate how to survive, win, and make lemonade in all circumstances.