Rosellen Brown resides in Chicago, Illinois and is the author of five novels: Before and After (1992), Civil Wars (1984), Tender Mercies (1978), The Autobiography of my Mother (1976), and Half a Heart (2000). Brown was the recipient of an award in literature from the American Academy of Arts and has received numerous other awards.
             My reaction to Rosellen Brown as a speaker centered on her intriguing personality. She portrayed no superiority for having such an extensively read book and at times she came across as extremely humble. I think that she took a modest approach because of the sensitivity related to Half a Heart. Rosellen Brown does not have a biracial daughter in real life, and I wondered were she pulled her inspiration for portraying the character of Ronnee. I learned from her speech that she and her husband both taught at a predominately black school for many years. Thus, she was submerged into the lives of a variety of African Americans. This allowed her to gain insight into their lives and perspectives.
             I respected that Rosellen Brown openly stated that she may have fallen short of portraying the mind of a biracial daughter who has been mother less for 17 years. However, as an African American female who had dealt with different biracial problems, I felt that she did an excellent job of conveying a teens mind in Ronnee's situation. Rosellen Brown stated in the beginning of her speech that this book was about change. As someone who has read the book I fully agreed that this was the impression that came across in the text. In conclusion, I pulled from her speech that she believes change comes
             from insight into others lives in comparison to ones own, just as Ronnee and Miriam were being to change.
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