Raised in one of the most deprived areas in the Caribbean, Rita more than pondered those dreams, she conquered them all. Perhaps she never took the time to wonder her fate, or maybe she operated on a meter that prevented her to pause, but as early as three decades into the world she had discovered those five challenges in a very profound way.
She was a teenager when she found herself carrying life into the world.

Without a proper home to raise a child, parents, a husband or even a secure job, this young girl faced shame and scandal living with a relative who at times seemed more like tyrant than a disciplinarian. To put this in perspective, one must know that Rita Anderson faced racial discrimination in Trench Town, Jamaica. How could that be considering the entire Jamaica is more than 90 percent African, lies with the fact ignorance dominates from the colonial beginnings, to instil a superiority mentality amongst anyone perceived a hue closer to that of the British enslavers.

That absurdity is what forced this young girl to seek ambition. Nicknamed derogatorily, for her dark complexion she suffered what could have manifested as a complex rather than blind ambition.

She chose the latter. For her, nursing meant respectability. But as fate would have it, the sound of her voice told her different. As early as she can remember, she said she enjoyed singing.

In her 209-page book, Rita carefully reflects on how she met and married Jamaica’s most known entertainer. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you must know Bob Marley is acclaimed as the first Third World superstar. Considering that the First World recognizes a number of continents as Third World, Marley’s achievement is huge, magnanimous and unbelievable.

That his wife helped him to such heights is no debate for bad-minded people who may still not want to give this dark-skinned woman her due. If ever the statement applied that ‘behind every successful man is a woman,’ a chapter should have been written “behind Bob Marley’s success was me, his wife, Rita.”

Instead she penned, “Trench Town Rock,” “Who Feels It Knows It,” “To Love Somebody,” “Lively Up Yourself,” “Thank You, Jah” and other song titles Marley fans will recognize.

In her own words, and gentle nostalgia, Rita reflects her desire to sing.

With all the passion of a believer, Rita embraced the obstacles to perform, entertain and soothe herself with music.

She credits quite a few in helping her along the way. Primarily she credits Peter Tosh. He was first to cross the dirt road to recognize her potential.

Her collaborators to form the Soulettes are yet another acknowledged configuration.

And although she was chased off the stage, she credits Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry for giving her her first shot onstyage.

Then there was Clement Coxsone Dodd, and of course the people who listened, loved and paid to hear her sing.

Rita’s love for her man is probably what kept her striving for better. Despite severe poverty, little hope and multiple pregnancies, not to mention a skeptical guardian she often refers to as Aunty, Rita sacrificed her own dream to forge a career for her husband.

The man she consistently describes as the love of her life, her first love and with other terms of endearment seemed the ideal father. For starters he embraced her fully when he discovered she was an unwed mother, single parent and striving tenager.

He took it upon himself to become a father to a child he did not breed. And as humble as his upbringing he knew right from wrong and tried to right some of the wrongs Rita had suffered.

But Rita’s life was no fairy tale.
She shed plenty of tears. So many she chose to name her lifestory from a title which most identifies the shield she used in order to trod the course she was destined to live out.

Although Rita chose not to place blame on her husband’s foibles, and perceived indiscretions in sleeping with many women, she details a litany of “one-night stands” she attributes to the many children he has fathered.

The widow gets the last laugh to laugh at all of the women who claimed him temporarily. Most of all she fires back at a few by referring to them as “whores.”

Esther Anderson gets the brunt of her ire when she explained how the publicist, hired by Chris Blackwell moved in to Kingston to become more like a mattress for Marley, than a buttress to his music and message.

The Trench Town alum did not go down the list of women who desired her husband. But she mentioned a princess from Gabon, Africa named Pascalene Bongo who thought her royalty might have dethroned Bob’s queen.

Rita wrote that many beauty queens from various places, “miss this and miss that” were offered as prizes to pose with the reggae legend.

The wife of Bob Marley also spews poison on the pageant princess Cindy Breakspeare who was crowned Miss World. The queen of reggae takes no hostages in defining the beauty as raised to pimp men with money. In explaining the nurturing of some women raised in perceived “affluent communities” of Jamaica, Rita made no bones in explaining how Breakspeare moved in as a tenant of Island Records founder Chris Blackwell to position herself as closeasthis to the reggae star. Cindy is the mother Bob Marley’s youngest son, Damian.

Actually, Rita’s account parallels Don Taylor’s chapter in a book the manager penned called “Marley & Me.”

Taylor wrote that Cindy’s family had fallen on hard times when she was a young girl. Perhaps it was the need for security that the beauty exploited her gift.

“Cindy closed her eyes”… when Bob slept with her friends Virginia Burke and her sister Nancy, Taylor wrote. As a matter of fact, Taylor said he lost all respect for Cindy when he realized she tolerated the disrespectful behaviour from her Rastafarian lover.

But Rita’s said her name defined her with sin (Cin-dy).

Rita nursed heartaches as the wife, and wind beneath his wings.

Throughout the book, Rita acknowledges Rastafari as her rock. Her strong belief in a way of life where pork is forbidden, cosmetics is unfashionable, and humility is regarded as strength must have complicated the order when her companion who shared the same beliefs entertained women who revelled in beauty pageants, sought the limelight and glorified the spotlight.

Yet it seems, Rita relied on the duty of parenthood to keep her on a path that made her turn a deaf ear to gossip, negatives, and allowed her to mother children her husband claimed.

Most engaging were chapters explaining how she was nearly killed by gunmen at 56 Hope Road. The relationship between manager Taylor, music mogul Danny Simms, Marley’s mother Cedella Booker, and English record company entrepreneur Blackwell are given weighted definition.

She tries to write the wrong Taylor placed on graphic artist Neville Garrick in his book by giving kudos to the associate and talented individual who later headed the Bob Marley Foundation

Her commentary on politics in Jamaica, her love for Ghana and her commitment to 38 grandchildren provide honest viewpoint at how one woman can make a difference.

There are paragraphs when Rita’s nostalgia will make readers laugh out loudly. Take the chapter where she talks about the greedy individuals who showed up after her husband’s death, to declare paternity.

One individul, she said, although older than Bob, said Bob was his father.

Another, she said, claimed to be a child she had aborted but did not die.

Others flooded her with stories about her husband’s promises to provide for them in perperpetuity.

Rita’s sense of humor shines through with tributes to her bestfriend Minnie, her American sister Dhaima, Lorna Wainwright, graphic artist Garrick, her cousin Vision aka Dream, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, songwriter Grub Cooper, her father, Pops, her dear Aunty, and Tacky, the father of her last child, Serita.

Unfortunately she missed mentioning Desta Meghoo who is now managing director of the Bob Marley Foundation but is a devout friend and supporter of the woman, singer, mother, and widow Rita.

That Meghoo is mother to 10 children, endured much to attain a law degree and remains committed to Rastafari would have added worthy paragraphs to the biography.

Mostly Rita showers love on her fruits Sharon, Cedella, David (Ziggy) Stephen, Stephanie and Karen and each and every one of her husband’s children which distinguishes her as unique, blessed, and role model for all women who cry.

Her country of Jamaica should consider her the best cultural ambassador for promoting ambition and hope when there is hardly any readily visible.

As a matter of fact Rita Marley should be named Minister of Culture, the way Panama has previously named actor Ruben Blades and reggae singer El General.

However, in her own words, “ Jamaica is a place where you’re loved today, hated tomorrow.”