Terry McMillan, author of Momma, comments on In the Shadow of the Peacock: "I was moved no end by In the Shadow of the Peacock. The sheer power of Yearwood's story makes you feel as if you've been privy to everyone's secrets and desires. [It] is an absorbing and evocative portrait of a mother and a daughter, caught in the shadows of each other's pain and the slow dance within which they escaped it. It is also a stunning, moving photograph, illustrating how strong love can and should be between friends as well as men and women. With a poet's compression, Yearwood's prose has the resonance and sound of guitar strings tightening, then being plucked: the echo, suspense and power exuberate from one page to the next, carrying you through a myriad of emotions that she's so good at capturing."