A humorist and playwright provides a heartfelt and humorous memoir-in–essays about growing up seeing the world differently, finding unexpected hope and every awkward, extraordinary stumble along the way.
Rabbit by Patricia Williams with Jeannine Amber
The popular comedian traces her youth in Atlanta’s most troubled neighborhood at the height of the crack epidemic, discussing the experiences with an alcoholic mother, four siblings, petty crime and prostitution that led to her becoming a mother at age 13 before resolving to secure a better life for her children.
This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jenkins
An influential literary critic presents a highly anticipated collection of linked essays interweaving incisive commentaries on subjects ranging from pop culture and feminism to black history, misogyny and racism to confront the challenges of being a black woman in today’s world.
Black is the Body by Emily Bernard
This collection of personal essays explores the complexities and paradoxes of growing up black in the South with a white surname as well as the author’s experiences with interracial marriage, international adoption, and teaching at a Northern white college.
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker by Damon Young
The co-founder of VerySmartBrothas.com presents a provocative and humorous memoir-in-essays that explores the direct impact of racism on his life, the shifting definition of Black male identity and the ongoing realities of white supremacy.
A highly personal meditation on race, sex and American culture by the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic traces her upbringing and education in upper-class African-American circles against a backdrop of the Civil Rights era and its contradictory aftermath.
In five years, Jesmyn Ward lost five men in her life, to drugs, accidents, suicide, and the bad luck that can follow people who live in poverty, particularly black men. Dealing with these losses, one after another, made Jesmyn ask the question: why?
The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This memoir of growing up in the tough world of Baltimore in the 1980s chronicles the relationship between the author and his father, a Vietnam vet and Black Panther affiliate, and his campaign to keep his sons from falling victim to the temptations of the streets.
An essayist and novelist explores what the weight of a lifetime of secrets, lies and deception does to a black body, a black family and a nation teetering on the brink of moral collapse.
All text above from Novelist and publisher descriptions.