Maryalice Swiney-Zoë researches and examines for more than thirty years' genealogy of the Swiney family, and a true story that she inherited as a child. After recovering from extensive operations at Charity Hospital, her father writes his life in letter codes. Swiney-Zoë breaks the historical codes of her father life, and writes his story in this extraordinary setting of the first book series of Caesar that begins in 1923 and ends in 1947. Dingus is summons to return home from working at the hard mill by the oldest son, his wife Lucy is having complication birthing the fifth child. After the birth of their son, Dingus and Lucy agree to name their son Caesar. The father's hopes and dreams for his children would be questionable, preserving and restoring the journey of one's humanity would come through the test of life, triumph, instinct, and culture. An unfortunate accident would strike Caesar, when he is taken by surprise from landing on a tree stump that leaves the left side of this body paralyzed; Caesar is told of a better hospital located in New Orleans, for the hospital had experience doctors who could treat his accident. Dingus and Lucy are hesitant to have Caesar admitted to the other hospital, but with conditions of Caesar not recovering from his accident, it would lead his parents to have him admitted to Charity Hospital. Caesar inherits the history of his African ancestors from his grandfather who was a slave, as well as his father's journal. In the winter of 1937, Dingus comes down with pneumonia and dies in January 1938. After the death of their father, Becky, one of the oldest Sweeney children had Caesar placed in a hospice to die. The hospice nurse realized that Caesar is still alive and breathing; she summons the hospice doctor to confirm her examination of him. Caesar is re-admitted at Charity Hospital to undergo extensive operations that tragedy; he ends up losing his left lung. With passion and faith, his near-death experience gives him the courage to survive, for he is put to the ultimate test of racism, family trust, and a journey of strangers who hides him, as he begins to quilt his life as a young adult. With courage and determination to learn, Caesar is fascinated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt speech that becomes the focus of four disciplines, "The Four Freedoms." Naomi the sister-in-law uses her potion of poison to control the Sweeney family. The story also examines the language during the 1930s and 1940s of black culture. Caesar is an inspirational story to all ethics, culture, creed, gender, and race.
About the Author: Maryalice Swiney-Zoë was born and raised in Los Angeles, California by her parents Cesar and Doll Swiney. At the age of five, she began taking piano lessons. She caught on quickly, reading and writing piano music by the age of nine. For ten years, she continued her passion for playing the piano by playing in several piano recitals in Los Angeles. When she was in the first grade, she had her first experience with politics. She had the opportunity to meet the Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown Jr. sister Kathleen Brown. At the age of ten, she learned sign language and sang in the junior choir. Later in her teenage years, she learned to read and play the violin and had joined the junior orchestra. For two years, she played the violin for the junior and senior orchestra. While in junior high school, Swiney-Zoë, discovered her father's story and her grandfather's journal dating back to 1918. Discovering this journal was the start to her interviewing family members and writing her father's story. For years, she would research the Swiney history. Swiney-Zoë's father Cesar Swiney taught her how to read the written letter codes he had written in Charles Swiney II's journal. Cesar learned to write in letter codes from his mother Lucy Swiney who was half mulatto (black), and half Seminole. While attending high school, Swiney-Zoë missed playing the piano. She began playing the piano again and had the opportunity of playing in piano recitals for three years, and winning piano recital awards. Swiney-Zoë won the Minority Scholarship, business award and scholarship. Swiney-Zoë was an Olympian in Vocational/ Industrial Clubs of America (VICA). After attending high school, she attended college and received her degree in Liberal Arts focusing on U.S. and foreign history. Swiney-Zoë produced a number of unclaimed short stories including, J.F. Scipio: Miles North, J.F. Scipio: Picking Daisies (1985), J.F. Scipio: Jungle Boogie (1992), J.F. Scipio: Three Men from King County (1991). Her past and present research has included, Last of the African Pygmies, and The Nigerian Chief. She received the Dean's Award in Liberal Arts, focusing on Africana Studies. Swiney-Zoë had been an active political volunteer for Organizing for America. Swiney-Zoë is one of the original founding members that helped formed the California State University, Dominquez Hills (CSUDH) Veterans Alliance and served as secretary for two years.