Back in the Day

Bay Area Blues, Book 2

By: Katrina Jackson

Narrated by: Jakobi Diem

2010 - Helping pack up his childhood home was going much easier than Amir expected. The only sticking point is the record collection his father Alonzo refuses to put in storage. When Amir asked his father why he needs to keep all those records with him, Alonzo offers to tell him a story instead.

Monterey Pop Festival - In 1967, Alonzo was a baby music reporter at the Village Voice on his first big assignment. By his side is photographer Ada Carr who is all brown skin, big afro, and sharp tongue. He should be worried about his story, but all he can think about is the way Ada looks dancing to the music in the dusk, the stage lights illuminating her form. He knows love when he sees, or better yet hears, it.

Over the course of two weekends, over 40 years apart, Alonzo imparts a soundtrack of love and life to Amir that bridges the past and present and they both learn how to say goodbye.

Content warnings: Parental death, grief, and recreational drug use.

©2021 Katrina Jackson (P)2022 Katrina Jackson

Beautiful....

told story. I love that the sex scenes weren't an over kill. They were just right. I could hear each song that was mentioned. I love the line from Alonzo ”we weren't always your parents, ” Amen! We seem to forget that the same passion that magnetize us to another, our parents/grandparents have experienced once before too..

Perfection 🤌🏾

This story gave everything it needed to give. Kudos to the author for the skill to pen such a dynamic and engaging story in the space of a novella. Ten Stars ⭐️

😍😍😍

Such a beautiful story…tender and heartwarming, but still sexy in a way that shouldn’t have surprised me coming from this author, but did! 10/10, will definitely read again!

Back Down Memory Lane

Wow! Listening to “Back In The Day” conjured such wonderful childhood memories for me especially the joys in Motown & The Jackson 5’s music. My goodness, I could relate to Alonso concerns and meticulous care of his (and Ada’s) precious vinyl collection! They just don’t make music (class Rock, R&B, Jazz and Blues) like that anymore ☺️🥲🤷🏾‍♀️‼️The 60’s & 70’s were the sweet years for awesome music, incredible festivals, great bands, hot pants, baby doll dresses, platforms, afro/afro puffs, cornrows with beads & posners get down brown lip stick🤣😂.…yea, those were great times! …thank you for the trip, back down memory lane 💭🥰‼️

Jakobi Diem found new ways for me to fall in love with one of my favorite novellas

I love Katrina Jackson’s writing, and her 2021 novella, Back in the Day, is one of my favorite pieces of writing in any genre. I finally bought the audiobook version narrated by Jakobi Diem. His narration is perfect, and he found new ways for this book to make me cry. I really didn’t think I could fall more in love with Jackson’s writing, but the richness Diem brought to her words proved me wrong. I am literally crying right now just thinking about the way he took words I already love and gave them more depth.

Back in the Day shifts between 2010 and the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. In 2010 Amir is helping his father Alonzo pack up the family home so that Alonzo can move in with Amir. Alonzo’s enormous record collection is a sticking point between them, so Amir asks his father to explain why they must keep every record. Alonzo goes back to running late to meet the photographer he’s been paired with to cover the Monterey Pop Festival for he Village Voice. The photographer is Ada, and the weekend changes their lives. Alonzo’s story of falling in love with Ada while the two bond over their love of music is interspersed with examining the fruit of their life life together. Ada died a few years before the book opens, but she is present in the house, the community, and in Amir and his sister Amaya.

If you want to do something nice for yourself, go get this, print or audio version, but audio version if you really love yourself.