Soul Secrets: Standing on the Banks of the Adkin is a coming-of-age memoir about a promise that 5-year-old Doris made to herself. Her sister had been hurt and Doris was determined to find out how and why. Driven to understand and help her dysfunctional family, Doris began to eavesdrop, question and investigate the world around her. Growing up "Colored" in the segregated South during the 1950s and 1960s provided many opportunities for Doris to examine her family, the society and herself. When Doris wrote well enough, she put the story about her fifth year on paper. Through the years, Doris rewrote the initial trauma and included more experiences. She transferred the growing stories from raggedy writing pads to many diaries, journals and notebooks. Soul Secrets is the final written product. The memoir covers Doris' childhood until she was thrown out of the house at the age of 20.