Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
All the Women in My Family Sing is an anthology of essays which seeks to document the lived experiences of women of color at the dawn of the twenty-first century. These brief, trenchant essays offer glimpses into the hard-fought struggle to exercise one's autonomy, creativity and dignity while rejecting the notion of second-class status or citizenship. The essay topics are as wide-ranging as their authors: from prisons to science, from motherhood to overeating, from to gentrification to art, from refugee camps to abiding hope--each essay is a world unto itself. An escapee from the Cambodian Killing Fields writes about losing 37 family members, as well as her dreams of returning to school. An astrophysics post-doc discusses imposter syndrome and surprising virtues of mentoring oneself. A Filipina divulges the two phrases every Filipina aunt can be counted on uttering and every Filipino can count on dreading. Eighty authors in total--whether African-American, Asian-American, Mexican-American, Cameroonian, or LGBTQI--these voices contribute to broaden cross-cultural understanding and build bridges to knowledge and respect.
Synopsis
All the Women in My Family Sing tells the sometimes raw, always illumining stories of women of color in today's political climate. Sixty-eight authors in total--African American, Asian American, Chicana, Native American, Cameroonian, South African, British and LGBTQI--these voices broaden cross-cultural understanding and contribute to building bridges to understanding how very alike we are in the daily experiences of life.
No other anthology offers the wide spectrum of stories about cultural identity, migration, sexuality, illness, racism and generosity from such illustrious voices, including America Ferrera on her powerful experience at the Women's March in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2017; Natalie Baszile on returning to Louisiana to research Queen Sugar and finding the "painful truths" her father experienced in the "belly of segregation;" Porochista Khakpour on flying across America under the Muslim travel ban; and Lalita Tademy on her transition from top executive at Sun Microsystems to NY Times bestselling author.
In other essays, a woman writes from prison about widows incarcerated for cashing their husbands' retirement checks. A young mother writes of suffering hundreds of strokes and a heart attack while giving birth. An art historian argues why Carmen Lomas Garza is as important as Norman Rockwell to our conception of what constitutes the American tableau. An escapee from the Cambodian Killing Fields writes about her life in America after losing 37 family members. A daughter writes about her father growing up in Louisiana having the soles of his feet set on fire as a joke.
Synopsis
All the Women in My Family Sing is an anthology documenting the experiences of women of color at the dawn of the twenty-first century. It is a vital collection of prose and poetry whose topics range from the pressures of being the vice-president of a Fortune 500 Company, to escaping the killing fields of Cambodia, to the struggles inside immigration, identity, romance, and self-worth. These brief, trenchant essays capture the aspirations and wisdom of women of color as they exercise autonomy, creativity, and dignity and build bridges to heal the brokenness in today's turbulent world. Sixty-nine authors -- African American, Asian American, Chicana, Native American, Cameroonian, South African, Korean, LGBTQI -- lend their voices to broaden cross-cultural understanding and to build bridges to each other's histories and daily experiences of life. America Ferrera's essay is from her powerful speech at the Women's March in Washington D.C.; Natalie Baszile writes about her travels to Louisiana to research Queen Sugar and finding the "painful truths" her father experienced in the "belly of segregation;" Porochista Khakpour tells us what it is like to fly across America under the Muslim travel ban; Lalita Tademy writes about her transition from top executive at Sun Microsystems to NY Times bestselling author. This anthology is monumental and timely as human rights and justice are being challenged around the world. It is a watershed title, not only written, but produced entirely by women of color, including the publishing, editing, process management, book cover design, and promotions. Our vision is to empower underrepresented voices and to impact the world of publishing in America -- particularly important in a time when 80% of people who work in publishing self-identify as white (as found recently in a study by Lee & Low Books, and reported on NPR).