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Denmark Vesey's Bible: The Thwarted Revolt That Put Slavery and Scripture on Trial
By Jeremy Schipper. 2022
A timely and provocative account of the Bible&’s role in one of the most consequential episodes in the history of…
slaveryOn July 2, 1822, Denmark Vesey, a formerly enslaved man, was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina. He was convicted of plotting what might have been the largest insurrection against slaveholders in US history. Witnesses claimed that Vesey appealed to numerous biblical texts to promote and justify the revolt. While sentencing Vesey to death, Lionel Henry Kennedy, a magistrate at the trial, accused Vesey not only of treason but also of &“attempting to pervert the sacred words of God into a sanction for crimes of the blackest hue.&” Denmark Vesey&’s Bible tells the story of this momentous trial, examining the role of scriptural interpretation in the deadly struggle against American white supremacy and its brutal enforcement.Jeremy Schipper brings the trial and its aftermath vividly to life, drawing on court documents, personal letters, sermons, speeches, and editorials. He shows how Vesey compared people of African descent with enslaved Israelites in the Bible, while his accusers portrayed plantation owners as benevolent biblical patriarchs responsible for providing religious instruction to the enslaved. What emerges is an explosive portrait of an antebellum city in the grips of racial terror, violence, and contending visions of biblical truth.Shedding light on the uses of scripture in America&’s troubled racial history, Denmark Vesey&’s Bible draws vital lessons from a terrible moment in the nation&’s past, enabling us to confront racism and religious discord today with renewed urgency and understanding.Madison Park: A Place of Hope
By Eric L. Motley. 2017
In this inspiring memoir, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush recounts the lessons he learned from his…
small Southern hometown.Welcome to Madison Park, a small community in Alabama founded by freed slaves in 1880. Eric Motley came of age in this remarkable place, where lessons in self-determination, hope, and an unceasing belief in the American dream taught him everything he needed for his life’s journey—a journey that led him to the Oval Office as a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush.Eric grew up among people who believed in giving and never turning away from a neighbor’s need. There was Aunt Shine, the goodly matriarch who cared so much about young Motley’s schooling that she would stand up in a crowded church and announce Eric’s progress—or shortcomings; Old Man Salery, who secretly siphoned gasoline from his beat-up car into the Motleys’ tank at night; Motley’s grandparents, who spent the last of their seed money on books for Eric; and Reverend Brinkley, a man of enormous faith and simple living. It was said that whenever the Reverend came your way, light abounded. Life in Madison Park wasn’t always easy or fair, and Motley reveals personal and heartbreaking stories of racial injustice and segregation. But Eric shows how the community taught him everything he needed to know about love and faith.Black Chameleon: Memory, Womanhood, and Myth
By Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton. 2023
Named one of The Root's 2023 Best Books by Black Authors It's often said that Black women are magic, but…
what if they really are mythological?Growing up as a Black girl in America, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton yearned for stories she could connect to—true ones, of course, but also fables and mythologies that could help explain both the world and her place in it. Greek and Roman myths felt as dusty and foreign as ancient ruins, and tales by Black authors were often rooted too far in the past, a continent away.Mouton’s memoir is a praise song and an elegy for Black womanhood. She tells her own story while remixing myths and drawing on traditions from all over the world: mothers literally grow eyes in the backs of their heads, children dust the childhood off their bodies, and women come to love the wildness of the hair they once tried to tame. With a poet’s gift for lyricism and poignancy, Mouton reflects on her childhood as the daughter of a preacher and a harsh but loving mother, living in the world as a Black woman whose love is all too often coupled with danger, and finally learning to be a mother to another Black girl in America.Of the moment yet timeless, playful but incendiary, Mouton has staked out new territory in the memoir form.Jumpman: The Making and Meaning of Michael Jordan
By Johnny Smith. 2023
How Michael Jordan&’s path to greatness was shaped by race, politics, and the consequences of fame To become the most…
revered basketball player in America, it wasn&’t enough for Michael Jordan to merely excel on the court. He also had to become something he never intended: a hero. Reconstructing the defining moment of Jordan&’s career—winning his first NBA championship during the 1990-1991 season—sports historian Johnny Smith examines Jordan&’s ubiquitous rise in American culture and the burden he carried as a national symbol of racial progress. Jumpman reveals how Jordan maintained a &“mystique&” that allowed him to seem more likable to Americans who wanted to believe race no longer mattered. In the process of achieving greatness, he remade himself into a paradox: universally known, yet distant and unknowable. Blending dramatic game action with grand evocations of the social forces sweeping the early nineties, Jumpman demonstrates how the man and the myth together created the legend we remember today.Two Souls Indivisible
By James S. Hirsch. 2004
How two Vietnam POWs, one white and one black, formed an unexpected friendship that saved them both: &“A moving story.&”…
—John McCain Fred Cherry was one of the few black pilots taken prisoner by the Vietnamese, tortured and intimidated by captors who tried and failed to get him to sign antiwar statements. Porter Halyburton was a white southern navy flier who the Vietnamese threw into a cell with Cherry at the famous Hanoi Hilton, hoping that close quarters would inspire racial tensions to boil over. Instead, they fostered an intense connection that would help both men survive the war—and continue for the rest of their lives. An unforgettable story of courage and friendship, Two Souls Indivisible is a compelling reminder of what can be achieved, in the face of incredible odds, when we put our differences aside. &“A riveting tale . . . Two Souls Indivisible joins the small list of essential tomes on the war, race, and to an even larger degree, books that describe the true meaning of heroism.&” —The Seattle Times &“A moving story of two men whose courage, sense of duty, and love proved greater than the depravity of their captors.&” —Sen. John McCainSt. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography
By Philip Freeman. 2005
"Lively and lucid." —The New York Times Book Review The most authoritative modern biography of the patron saint of Ireland,…
focusing on the historical Patrick and his times.Ireland&’s patron saint has long been shrouded in legend, but the true story of St. Patrick is far more inspiring than the myths. In St. Patrick of Ireland, Philip Freeman brings the historic Patrick and his world vividly to life. Patrick speaks in his own voice in two remarkable letters he wrote about himself and his beliefs, new translations of which are included here and which are still astonishing for their passion and eloquence. Born late in the fourth century to an aristocratic British family, Patrick&’s life was changed forever when he was abducted and taken to Ireland just before his sixteenth birthday. He spent six grueling years there as a slave, but the ordeal turned him from an atheist into a true believer. After a vision in which God told him he would go home, Patrick escaped captivity and, following a perilous journey, returned safely to Britain to the amazement of his family. But even more amazing to them was his announcement that he intended to go back to Ireland to spend the rest of his life ministering to the people who had once enslaved him. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the British Isles during the last years of the Roman Empire, St. Patrick of Ireland brilliantly brings to life the real Patrick, a man whose deep spiritual conviction and devotion helped to transform a country.The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir
By RuPaul. 2024
From international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing and personal work to date—a brutally honest,…
surprisingly poignant, and deeply intimate memoir of growing up Black, poor, and queer in a broken home to discovering the power of performance, found family, and self-acceptance. A profound introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag. Central to RuPaul’s success has been his chameleonic adaptability. From drag icon to powerhouse producer of one of the world’s largest television franchises, RuPaul’s ever-shifting nature has always been part of his brand as both supermodel and supermogul. Yet that adaptability has made him enigmatic to the public. In this memoir, his most intimate and detailed book yet, RuPaul makes himself truly known. In The House of Hidden Meanings, RuPaul strips away all artifice and recounts the story of his life with breathtaking clarity and tenderness, bringing his signature wisdom and wit to his own biography. From his early years growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego navigating complex relationships with his absent father and temperamental mother, to forging an identity in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York, to finding enduring love with his husband Georges LeBar and self-acceptance in sobriety, RuPaul excavates his own biography life-story, uncovering new truths and insights in his personal history. Here in RuPaul’s singular and extraordinary story is a manual for living—a personal philosophy that testifies to the value of chosen family, the importance of harnessing what makes you different, and the transformational power of facing yourself fearlessly. A profound introspection of his life, relationships, and identity, The House of Hidden Meanings is a self-portrait of the legendary icon on the road to global fame and changing the way the world thinks about drag. “I've always loved to view the world with analytical eyes, examining what lies beneath the surface. Here, the focus is on my own life—as RuPaul Andre Charles,” says RuPaul. If we’re all born naked and the rest is drag, then this is RuPaul totally out of drag. This is RuPaul stripped bare. New York Times BestsellerBeyond the Game: LeBron James (Beyond the Game: Athletes Change the World)
By Andrew Maraniss. 2024
Beyond the Game is a new nonfiction chapter book series about athletes who have stepped up beyond sports to make…
a difference in the world, from acclaimed author, Andrew Maraniss and illustrator DeAndra Hodge. This is the story of LeBron James and his social justice work.Before he became one of the most famous basketball players on the planet, before he began speaking out for justice, LeBron James was just a kid.In this chapter book biography by acclaimed author Andrew Maraniss, illustrated by DeAndra Hodge, readers learn more about the life and work of LeBron James—from growing up with a single mother in Akron, Ohio, to his journey to the NBA and ten NBA championships, to his social justice work creating I PROMISE and speaking up for Black Lives Matter.While known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, LeBron James has changed the world beyond sports.Complete with black-and-white illustrations throughout, statistics, resources, and ways for kids to make a difference on their own—BEYOND THE GAME is a giftable and inspirational series for every reader.A fascinating look at the lives of twenty rebels and rule-breakers throughout history and what made their contributions to society—in…
science, politics, art, and more—transformative. By the author and host of the popular Unruly Figures Substack newsletter and podcast.Unruly Figures gives you access to the lives and often untold stories of twenty of history's most fascinating individuals. Of all the rebels and revolutionaries who have acted around the world, these are often overlooked. Whether they are a bit familiar or entirely new to you, each of these historical figures provides a vivid example of what it means to live life on one's own terms and have a lasting influence on society.In the first collection of its kind, spotlighting a young historian's fresh view on unheralded rebels, these characters' true stories are brought to life through enthralling narratives of their feats and an original illustration of each. Even those whose names are recognizable—like Jonas Salk—have moments of rebellion that are largely left out of their histories. The diverse cast of unruly figures profiled includes:Kandake Amanirenas, queen of the Kingdom of Kush (modern-day Sudan), who led an army against the invading RomansManuela Sáenz, revolutionary from Ecuador and collaborator and lover of Simón BolívarHenry Dunant, Swiss humanitarian and founder of the Red CrossElaine Sturtevant, known as Sturtevant, a misunderstood American artist who took appropriation and pop art to new heights Dive into this collection of hidden history tales—those of scientists, artists, revolutionaries, activists, heirs to thrones, and so many more—and you are guaranteed to be inspired by how they lived on their own unconventional terms.Starry Field: A Memoir of Lost History
By Margaret Juhae Lee. 2023
&“Absorbing...Starry Field reminds us that even knowing where we came from won&’t tell us where we&’re going - but it…
will help along the way.&” Susan Choi, National Book Award winning author of Trust Exercise A poignant memoir for readers who love Pachinko and The Return by journalist Margaret Juhae Lee, who sets out on a search for her family&’s history lost to the darkness of Korea&’s colonial decades, and contends with the shockwaves of violence that followed them over four generations and across continents. As a young girl growing up in Houston, Margaret Juhae Lee never heard about her grandfather, Lee Chul Ha. His history was lost in early twentieth-century Korea, and guarded by Margaret&’s grandmother, who Chul Ha left widowed in 1936 with two young sons. To his surviving family, Lee Chul Ha was a criminal, and his granddaughter was determined to figure out why. Starry Field: A Memoir of Lost History chronicles Chul Ha&’s untold story. Combining investigative journalism, oral history, and archival research, Margaret reveals the truth about the grandfather she never knew. What she found is that Lee Chul Ha was not a source of shame; he was a student revolutionary imprisoned in 1929 for protesting the Japanese government&’s colonization of Korea. He was a hero—and eventually honored as a Patriot of South Korea almost 60 years after his death.But reclaiming her grandfather&’s legacy, in the end, isn&’t what Margaret finds the most valuable. It is through the series of three long-form interviews with her grandmother that Margaret finally finds a sense of recognition she&’s been missing her entire life. A story of healing old wounds and the reputation of an extraordinary young man, Starry Field bridges the tales of two women, generations and oceans apart, who share the desire to build family in someplace called home. Starry Field weaves together the stories of Margaret&’s family against the backdrop of Korea&’s tumultuous modern history, with a powerful question at its heart. Can we ever separate ourselves from our family&’s past—and if the answer is yes, should we? 20 memorable photographs will be included.Beyond the Game: Maya Moore (Beyond the Game: Athletes Change the World)
By Andrew Maraniss. 2024
Beyond the Game is a new nonfiction chapter book series about athletes who have stepped up beyond sports to make…
a difference in the world, from acclaimed author Andrew Maraniss and illustrator DeAndra Hodge. This is the story of WNBA star Maya Moore and her social justice work.Before she became one of the most famous basketball players on the planet, before she began speaking out for prison reform, Maya Moore was just a kid.In this chapter book biography by acclaimed author Andrew Maraniss, readers learn more about the life and work of Maya Moore—from growing up with a single mother in Jefferson City, Missouri, to her journey to becoming a star player at UCONN and the WNBA, to her social justice fighting for prison reform and speaking up for Black Lives Matter.While known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Maya Moore has changed the world beyond sports.Complete with black-and-white illustrations throughout, statistics, resources, and ways for kids to make a difference on their own—Beyond the Game is a giftable and inspirational series for every reader.An Honest Living: A Memoir of Peculiar Itineraries
By Steven Salaita. 2024
An exiled professor’s journey from inside and beyond academeIn the summer of 2014, Steven Salaita was fired from a tenured…
position in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois for his unwavering stance on Palestinian human rights and other political controversies. A year later, he landed a job in Lebanon, but that, too, ended badly. With no other recourse, Salaita found himself trading his successful academic career for an hourly salaried job. Told primarily from behind the wheel of a school bus—a vantage point from which Salaita explores social anxiety, suburban architecture, political alienation, racial oppression, working-class solidarity, professional malfeasance, and the joy of chauffeuring children to and from school—An Honest Living describes the author’s decade of turbulent post-professorial life and his recent return to the lectern.Steven Salaita was practically born to a life in academia. His father taught physics at an HBCU in southern West Virginia and his earliest memories are of life on campus and the cinder walls of the classroom. It was no surprise that he ended up in the classroom straight after graduate school. Yet three of his university jobs—Virginia Tech, the University of Illinois, and the American University of Beirut [AUB] —ended in public controversy. Shaken by his sudden notoriety and false claims of antisemitism, Salaita found himself driving a school bus to make ends meet. While some considered this just punishment for his anti-Zionist beliefs, Steven found that driving a bus provided him with not just a means to pay the bills but a path toward freedom of thought.Now ten years later, with a job at American University at Cairo, Salaita reconciles his past with his future. His restlessness has found a home, yet his return to academe is met with the same condition of fugitivity from whence he was expelled: an occasion for defiance, not conciliation. An Honest Living presents an intimate personal narrative of the author’s decade of professional joys and travails.From the Inside Out: Harrowing Escapes from the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center
By Erik O. Ronningen. 2013
Fifteen survivors of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center share their dramatic stories of that fateful day.…
On September 11, 2001, tens of thousands in New York City awakened to a beautiful Tuesday morning. Just like any other day, they completed their morning routines and headed to work. For Erik Ronningen, that was his job with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at the World Trade Center. Ronningen had a big, career-changing meeting scheduled for 9 A.M. At 8:46 A.M., Erik was on the seventy-first floor of the North Tower when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the building. As acrid smoke filled the building, he made his way downstairs, hoping to get to the Security Command Center in the basement of the South Tower. However, he was unable to reach it and was the last person to exit the South Tower alive . . . In From the Inside Out, Ronningen shares the story of his harrowing escape, along with stories from fourteen other survivors. These gripping accounts chronicle individuals displaying courage and heroism when their ordinary day quickly became a fiery scramble for survival.Let the Law Catch Up: Thurgood Marshall in His Own Words
By Cathy Cambron. 2022
A collection of US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall&’s legal writings spanning his career, including his arguments, opinions, and dissents.…
The US Constitution promised much to Black citizens with its post–Civil War amendments designed to eliminate the stigma of slavery and create equality between all races, but unfortunately it delivered little justice. Thurgood Marshall spent his life working to make the Constitution live up to its promises. In the 1940s and &’50s, Marshall worked as an attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), facing threats and harassment as he argued cases before the Supreme Court. His efforts culminated in the Brown v. Board of Education case, where the Supreme Court&’s ruling outlawed &“separate but equal&” public schools. After serving as a judge for the US Court of Appeals and as the first Black US solicitor general, Marshall became the nation&’s first Black Supreme Court Justice in 1967. Marshall believed the Constitution was a living document and a work in progress, and his career and legacy demonstrate it is indeed just that. Only through struggle, suffering, sacrifice, amendment, argument, and interpretation can the Constitution be made better. Marshall committed decades of his life to this effort, focused on his vision of what America could be. Let the Law Catch Up collects Justice Marshall&’s words from over the course of his career, from his advocacy with the NAACP to his arguments as solicitor general and his Supreme Court opinions and dissents. With introductions providing historical and legal context, this book paints a powerful portrait of a fearless man and his life&’s work.I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons
By Kevin Hart. 2017
New York Times bestselling author, superstar comedian, and Hollywood box office star Kevin Hart turns his immense talent to the…
written word in this &“hilarious but also heartfelt&” (Elle) memoir on survival, success, and the importance of believing in yourself.The question you&’re probably asking yourself right now is: What does Kevin Hart have that a book also has? According to the three people who have seen Kevin Hart and a book in the same room, the answer is clear: A book is compact. Kevin Hart is compact. A book has a spine that holds it together. Kevin Hart has a spine that holds him together. A book has a beginning. Kevin Hart&’s life uniquely qualifies him to write this book by also having a beginning. It begins in North Philadelphia. He was born an accident, unwanted by his parents. His father was a drug addict who was in and out of jail. His brother was a crack dealer and petty thief. And his mother was overwhelmingly strict, beating him with belts, frying pans, and his own toys. The odds, in short, were stacked against our young hero. But Kevin Hart, like Ernest Hemingway, J.K. Rowling, and Chocolate Droppa before him, was able to defy the odds and turn it around. In his literary debut, he takes us on a journey through what his life was, what it is today, and how he&’s overcome each challenge to become the man he is today. And that man happens to be the biggest comedian in the world, with tours that sell out football stadiums and films that have collectively grossed over $3.5 billion. He achieved this not just through hard work, determination, and talent. &“Hart is an incredibly magnetic storyteller, on the page as he is onstage, and that&’s what shines through [in this] genial, entertaining guide to a life in comedy&” (Kirkus Reviews).I am Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Ordinary People Change the World)
By Brad Meltzer. 2024
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the 32nd hero in the New York Times bestselling picture book biography series…
for ages 5 to 9.Before Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the judge, she was a young Jewish girl growing up in Brooklyn, inspired by books, past female trailblazers, and her mother to make the world a better, more just place to be. So even when people turned her away—for being a girl and for being Jewish—she never stopped fighting for equal treatment for everyone by pushing back against unjust laws and the beliefs around them. This friendly, fun biography series inspired the PBS Kids TV show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. One great role model at a time, these books encourage kids to dream big.Included in each book are: A timeline of key events in the hero&’s history Photos that bring the story more fully to life Comic-book-style illustrations that are irresistibly adorableChildhood moments that influenced the hero Facts that make great conversation-starters A virtue this person embodies: Ruth Bader Ginsburg&’s perseverance to create justice and equality is highlighted. You&’ll want to collect each book in this dynamic, informative series!Hard Choices: A Memoir
By Hillary Rodham Clinton. 2015
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s inside account of the crises, choices, and challenges she faced during her four years as America’s 67th…
Secretary of State, and how those experiences drive her view of the future.“All of us face hard choices in our lives,” Hillary Rodham Clinton writes at the start of this personal chronicle of years at the center of world events. “Life is about making such choices. Our choices and how we handle them shape the people we become.”In the aftermath of her 2008 presidential run, she expected to return to representing New York in the United States Senate. To her surprise, her former rival for the Democratic Party nomination, newly elected President Barack Obama, asked her to serve in his administration as Secretary of State. This memoir is the story of the four extraordinary and historic years that followed, and the hard choices that she and her colleagues confronted.Secretary Clinton and President Obama had to decide how to repair fractured alliances, wind down two wars, and address a global financial crisis. They faced a rising competitor in China, growing threats from Iran and North Korea, and revolutions across the Middle East. Along the way, they grappled with some of the toughest dilemmas of US foreign policy, especially the decision to send Americans into harm’s way, from Afghanistan to Libya to the hunt for Osama bin Laden.By the end of her tenure, Secretary Clinton had visited 112 countries, traveled nearly one million miles, and gained a truly global perspective on many of the major trends reshaping the landscape of the twenty-first century, from economic inequality to climate change to revolutions in energy, communications, and health. Drawing on conversations with numerous leaders and experts, Secretary Clinton offers her views on what it will take for the United States to compete and thrive in an interdependent world. She makes a passionate case for human rights and the full participation in society of women, youth, and LGBT people. An astute eyewitness to decades of social change, she distinguishes the trendlines from the headlines and describes the progress occurring throughout the world, day after day.Secretary Clinton’s descriptions of diplomatic conversations at the highest levels offer readers a master class in international relations, as does her analysis of how we can best use “smart power” to deliver security and prosperity in a rapidly changing world—one in which America remains the indispensable nation.In celebration of its 10th anniversary, a revised and updated edition of the award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller that…
changed the way we look at meditation, expanded with new material by Dan Harris. After having a nationally televised panic attack on Good Morning America, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes. A lifelong nonbeliever, he found himself on a bizarre adventure involving a disgraced pastor, a mysterious self-help guru, and a gaggle of brain scientists. Eventually, Harris realized that the source of his problems was the very thing he always thought was his greatest asset: the incessant, insatiable voice in his head. We all have an inner narrator. It’s what has us losing our temper unnecessarily, checking our email compulsively, eating when we’re not hungry, and fixating on the past and the future at the expense of the present. Most of us assume we’re stuck with this voice—that there’s nothing we can do to rein it in—but Harris stumbled upon an effective way to do just that. 10% Happier is now considered a classic text on the power of meditation, an introduction to the practice that can convert even the most hardened skeptic. With over a million copies sold, 10% Happier is the go-to guide, and with meditation now a widely accepted and encouraged practice, Dan Harris is a pivotal and approachable figure in the field who has built a thriving platform based on the ideas he first presented in this book. In this 10th Anniversary Edition, Harris offers a new preface reflecting on how much has changed—for him and for the public perceptions of meditation, plus a revised and expanded appendix, filled with guided meditations and practical advice for people looking to boot up a habit. New York Times BestsellerTen Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse
By Brontez Purnell. 2024
"This book is brutal and brutally honest, but still perversely addictive because Brontez Purnell is a performer in the truest…
sense. Reading Ten Bridges I've Burnt, I felt tucked-in with him, along for the intimate ride, and paused only once to write down a part I’d been looking for my whole life." —Miranda JulyFrom the beloved author of 100 Boyfriends, a wrenching, sexy, and exhilaratingly energetic memoir in verse.In Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt, Brontez Purnell—the bard of the underloved and overlooked—turns his gaze inward. A storyteller with a musical eye for the absurdity of his own existence, he is peerless in his ability to find the levity within the stormiest of crises. Here, in his first collection of genre-defying verse, Purnell reflects on his peripatetic life, whose ups and downs have nothing on the turmoil within. “The most high-risk homosexual behavior I engage in,” Purnell writes, “is simply existing.”The thirty-eight autobiographical pieces pulsing in Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt find Purnell at his no-holds-barred best. He remembers a vicious brawl he participated in at a poetry conference and reckons with packaging his trauma for TV writers’ rooms; wrestles with the curses, and gifts, passed down from generations of family members; and chronicles, with breathless verve, a list of hell-raising misadventures and sexcapades. Through it all, he muses on everything from love and loneliness to capitalism and Blackness to jogging and the ethics of art, always with unpredictable clarity and movement. With the same balance of wit and wisdom that made 100 Boyfriends a sensation, Purnell unleashes another collection of boundary-pushing writing with Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt, a book as original and thrilling as the author himself.Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to You
By A'Ja Wilson. 2024
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Through honest stories and inspiring lessons from her life, A’ja Wilson reminds us to never…
doubt who we are or apologize for being true to ourselves. Dear Black Girls is a must-read for every Black girl out there.” ―Gabrielle UnionThis one is for all the girls with an apostrophe in their names.This is for all the girls who are labeled “too loud” and “too emotional.”This is for all the girls who are constantly asked, “Oh, what did you do with your hair? That’s new.”This is for my Black girls.Despite gold medals, WNBA championships, and a list of accolades, A’ja Wilson knows how it feels to be swept under the rug—to not be heard, to not feel seen, to not be taken seriously. As a fourth grader going to a primarily white school in South Carolina, A’ja was told she’d have to stay outside for a classmate’s birthday party. “Huh?” she asked. Because the birthday girl’s father didn’t like Black people.Wilson tells stories like this, about how even when life tried to hold her down, it didn’t stop her. She shares her contribution to “The Talk,” and how to keep fighting, all while igniting strength, passion, and joy. Dear Black Girls is a necessary and meaningful exploration of what it means to be a Black woman in America today—and a rallying cry to lift up women and girls everywhere.“Dear Black Girls is filled with phenomenal stories and empowering insight on what it means to be a woman in today’s world. I didn’t want to put it down.” ―Tunde Oyeneyin, New York Times bestselling author of Speak