Reaching Back is the story of a woman, Mignon Samuels at a personal crossroad. As she is struggling to make the right decision for herself and her family she is given an aged leather bound journal that takes her back in time to the stories and choices of women in her family and how they dealt with issues of the skin tone struggle in the African American culture.

The journal also provides a glimpse into the captivating but closely guarded family history and sheds light on how family secrets and difficult relationships impacted the lives of four generations of proud African-American women – from her maternal great grandmother Megan Devereaux who passed on her disdain for dark skin to her first born daughter Carrie who was shockingly born as brown as a paper bag and not acceptable by her mother Megan’s standard for beauty.

Fueled by the legacy contained in the journal, Mignon forges ahead and decides it is time to make life changes to break the bonds and strict codes of the African American elite.