Hollywood producer DeVon Franklin is back with his latest project, but one that magnifies the leading ladies in his life: his mom Paulette, and his five great aunts, (Aunt Nuna, Aunt Ida, Aunt Enis, Aunt Sondra and Aunt Donna). Serving a twist to the old African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”, DeVon ups the ante by adding: “It takes a woman“, and affectionately titled his latest book after the adage.
“It Takes A Woman“, was released as an Audible Original on April 21st, and offers an emotional journey of tragedy, triumph, and healing, as Franklin introduces listeners to the women who raised him and his two brothers following his father’s untimely death. Exploring candid and difficult conversations from marriage, death and divorce, to regret, money and sex — It Takes A Woman, uncovers layers of both joy and pain, deeply rooted within the family, but also the pathway for ultimate healing.
Many of the discussions are raw and unfiltered, and according to Franklin, the first time that several of the topics had surfaced for the family.
There were moments of discomfort during this process — moments of [thinking] how far is too far, and how much can I share or can we share? We had to really wrestle with that because in being transparent and doing something like this, you’re inevitably sharing your wounds with the world and being vulnerable,” said DeVon Franklin, Creator and Producer of It Takes A Woman. “In that vulnerability, there’s an emotional nakedness that is sometimes hard to deal with. So we all collectively navigated that and I think the ultimate product and what the listener hears when they listen to It Takes A Woman, is really the culmination of that vulnerability, in a way that will impact the listener in a positive way.”
The listener will journey alongside Franklin and Co., as they travel exploratory depths within each story and intimate discussion. The women, with their varying personalities, are the perfect backdrop for endless entertainment, and will have listeners drawn to a favorite or two throughout the book.
My mom is more quiet and kind of reserved, so when you hear her on this book, so much of her content just gets right to your heart because she doesn’t really express a lot — but when she does it tends to be very emotional,” DeVon Franklin, President and CEO of Franklin Entertainment, shared. “My Aunt Ida is really outspoken; Aunt Enis is very sassy; Aunt Donna is the wise and wild one; Aunt Nuna is the refined one and the oldest at 96 — almost very movie star glamorous; and Aunt Sondra is very much like a mentor. You have all [of] these superheroes who have come together to talk about their various powers and stories, and my hope is that the listener will take away a lot of [that] power and wisdom that they collectively bring.”
While creatively paying homage to his “village as love” as DeVon has coined them, the award-winning producer also hopes that the book will spark global conversations amongst families across generations.
Can you imagine if you owned a house, and in the backyard all you did was play on top of it, never knowing what was underneath it? Like, living on land that has oil, but you never drill for it,” DeVon Franklin, CEO of Franklin Entertainment said. “We end up having all of these experiences with our family members (especially those older family members), and they are our oil, and we never drill for it. They have so much to give us and we never ask them. We never sit down with them and say ‘Tell me your story’.”
While reminiscing on the stories shared and enjoying the book’s initial success, Franklin now eagerly awaits the May premiere of the eight-episode drama “Kingdom Business”, that he co-produced, to air on BET+. Even with so much on the horizon, DeVon wants the stories within It Takes A Woman to live on — throughout his legacy, and from this lifetime and beyond.
“Our oral tradition has been one of the main keys to our survival as a people — keeping the stories alive from generation to generation to generation,” DeVon Franklin, Producer and Storyteller of It Takes A Woman added. “The [one thing] that no one can ever take is our [story] when we tell it. I wanted to tell our story as a microcosm…so that it doesn’t get lost and that it gets memorialized — not only for this generation, but hopefully for generations to come.”
