Welcome!
I am Cora D. Shannon-Brown
I'm excited to be launching my memoir, which asks, Does God Have Favorites?
About Cora
Cora D. Shannon-Brown was born a formidable 13-pound baby in Memphis’s Hyde Park neighborhood in 1939, the youngest of ten children and the product of a tight-knit, faith-filled Black community that taught her how to endure and to dream.
Music became her passport out of poverty. After migrating to California as a teenager, she broke barriers at Berkeley High—earning the lead in the school’s production of Babes in Toyland despite protests over a Black heroine and holding soloist spots in its elite choral ensembles.
Marriage and motherhood soon expanded Cora’s stage to the wider world. She kept house and hope alive through nightly rocket attacks during the 1969 Tết Offensive in Saigon, Vietnam, and later navigated the rhythms of expat life in Jakarta and across Indonesia while raising three children.
After many years of having settled back in Northern California, Cora sings with community choirs, mentors young women who “dream beyond the porch,” and marshals seven decades of grit, grace, and globe-spanning adventure into the memoir that, in a few short months, you will hold in your hands.
About Cora's Book
Does God Have Favorites is a powerful, lyrical coming-of-age memoir that traces the journey of a young Black girl growing up in the segregated South who finds her voice, identity, and strength in the most unexpected places. From the porches of Memphis to the stages of Berkeley High, this deeply personal narrative captures the pain, resilience, and triumph of a girl who refused to let silence define her.
Told through vivid, emotionally honest storytelling, this manuscript chronicles the author’s early years in Memphis—a world rich with Southern Black culture, familial pride, and spiritual tradition but shadowed by poverty, racism, and secrets. When the weight of a whispered confession leads to a life-altering family rupture, the author begins to question everything she thought she knew about love, loyalty, and truth.
Her transition to life in California offers both freedom and new forms of discrimination. As she discovers her gift for music and storytelling, she also learns to stand up to control, shame, and subtle racism. This is a story of a girl who learns that her voice isn’t just something to be hidden—it’s her power.
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Cora D. Shannon-Brown
P.O. Box 6815
San Pablo, CA 94806
in memo section please write, BOOK: Does God Have Favorites?
